A Family For Christmas II
by Eryessa
Summary: This is the sequel to the same title, set 12 years later. Annie has finally gotten her life to the way she wanted. But when tragedy happens it's the family she lost that comes together to help her. Joe brings his friends in as well. Things have changed but some things haven't. So what sort of things can arise for Annie now that she is back in her family's life at this time of year?
1. Prologue

**This is the Prologue for A Family For Christmas II. I would suggest reading the first one before you get into this one.**

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><p><strong>August 5th, 2014<strong>

"So, what do you think?" I asked my soon to be husband, Spencer Carlson.

He smiled at me, it was the kind of smile I had grown to love. He leaned down and kissed me, pulling my body towards him. Sketch, that was all I ever really called him, wrapped his large arms around me.

"You have no idea how happy I feel right now, Annella Grange, my soon to be wife."

"Well, my soon to be husband, how about we go out and celebrate. You can drink for me." I said hooking my thumbs in his back pockets.

Everything was going great, my life that was. For the years prior to that moment, I worked hard just to get everything under control but it still didn't matter. I left the one family I had behind, I lost contact with the Anoa'i family some twelve years prior. I lost contact with them, I had not really seen any of them since I was eighteen, loosing contact with Solofa's twin sons after high school. Joe, I had not talked to since then.

Sketch tied his hair back into a loose ponytail. At least he was being presentable. I slipped into a nice little black dress, in heels no less and my own hair pulled back. I hated earrings, I even hated makeup. It was a hold over from my childhood. It was hard to believe that I would become something like I was, something that I loved to do. Writing.

"When is the deadline for the next Perry Miser book supposed to come out?"

"The publishers want another book for a pre Christmas release." I answered as we walked down the steps of the apartment building.

The car Spencer owned was still the one he had back in high school, the one he had through college. A jeep. And I really liked the Jeep. It was comfortable, it was the only thing that never changed in the course of twelve years. And it was reliable, kind of like Sketch was to me.

As we got to the bottom of the stairs someone stepped out of the shadows of the building.

"Annella." I heard the woman that ruined my life.

Sarah, Sarah Grange, she had made it very impossible to care about her. Hate was a strong word, hate was a thing that I tried not to ever have for anyone. But it was hard for me to accept the fact that she was my mother, by blood.

"Annie." She smiled at me.

The teeth she had was bad, having lost most of them to the drugs she had found herself involved with again. Drugs were the reason why she abandoned me when I was younger, they were more important to her than I was. I still didn't know who my biological father was.

"What do you want, Sarah?" I asked stopping Sketch from putting himself between her and me. "We were on our way out."

"I can see that. It's so good to see you. You're so beautiful."

"What do you want, Sarah?" Sketch asked.

She fiddled with her hands in her black hoodie jacket. "I wanted to know if you could loan me some money, Annie."

"Annella," I corrected her. "I already gave you money this month. Less than a week ago. You only come over when you need money."

"That's not true, sweetie." She stepped closer into the light. Good because there was a security camera up on the eve of the roof looking into the parking lot.

I was starting to get nervous. I put my hand on Sketch's arm, trying to calm him down and myself for that matter.

"You were always a good girl. You deserved better than me."

"So why did you take me from Florida."

"You didn't belong to them. You belonged to me. I am your mother." Her voice rose near frantically. "And they wanted to adopt you, those weird people. Those wrestlers."

"Sarah, you're scaring me." I said.

"Look, all I want is the money."

"And you're not getting it." Sketch spoke up, coming to stand between her and me. "You need to leave before I call the cops. Leave, Sarah."

"You don't tell me what to do." She nearly yelled pulling whatever it was out of her hoodie.

The pop that I heard was deafening. It wasn't so much a pop, it was a crack. Like thunder in a storm. The sound reverberated through the parking lot. And soon after Sketch fell to the ground with a sickening thump.

"Spencer!" I yelled dropping down on the ground next to him. "What did you do!" I yelled looking up at the deranged woman.

"He came after me." She said, still holding the gun up, pointing it at me. "He, he came after me."

"Go away." I pressed my hands to Sketch's chest. And when I pulled them back there was the blood. I saw the blood. She'd shot him. "Oh God you shot him!"

I reached for my small purse to pull out my phone. I didn't know if he was dead, I didn't see him breathing, all that I was focused on was getting help.

"What are you doing?" Sarah came up, hands gripping the gun.

"I'm calling for help. He's dying."

"But they'll arrest me." She said in a voice that sounded like she was scared. Good she should be. "You won't call them." She pointed that gun at my head.

"Sarah, he's dying! The father of my baby is dying." I started crying at this point, trying to keep the life essential blood from getting out of his body. "I don't my husband to die."

"He's not your husband."

"I'm his!" I yelled, on to have the barrel of the gun pressed against my head. "This is all your fault. This is your fault. It was always your fault!"

I didn't care that she was pointing a gun at my head. I didn't care. My love, the love of my life was dying and she was the reason for it.

That was when she pulled the trigger.

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><p><strong>So, what do you think so far? Do you guys like it? This is the adult version of last year's story that so many people wanted me to revive. I had to rewrite it over and over again and this is sort of the best that I could come up with so far. More is definitely coming. <strong>


	2. Chapter 1: Hey Little Cuz

**Here's Chapter 1, everyone!**

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><p><strong>Hey Little Cuz<strong>

**August 5th, 2014: Seven days after the attack.**

I jerked awake. It was the nightmare that woke me up at first. Then it was the knock on the door that caused me to really wake up. Pushing myself off the bed, I grabbed the house coat that was laying on the bed and put it on. It was three in the morning, who would be at my door at this time?

I grabbed a knife from the kitchen, just in case. Why? She wasn't going to come back again. Not with the cops around at least. I didn't think it was my publisher, she would usually be calling but then again she was concerned for me. The news were still going strong about the attack on Sketch, on his death and on me.

Glancing through the peep hole, I became confused. There was someone standing out there, someone that looked familiar but then again didn't look familiar. But it wasn't the person I was expecting to show up, considering she was still out there, missing.

I slowly opened the door, after unlocking the three locks I had put in there. But I didn't let the door open far, just in case. Was I being that paranoid?

"Hey, Little Cuz." The voice belonged to someone I hadn't heard in a long time.

"Dwayne?" I opened the door a little wider. "What? How did you find me?" So much for a happy reunion.

"Your publisher actually. Who knew she was a wrestling fan? Just a little charm and a donation to your at risk children's writing workshops, she gave me your address. Look, I know it's a bad time, seven days ago you went through a trauma that no one should ever do. But I wanted to come see you." Dwayne Johnson told me.

So what did I do? I let him in. At three o'clock in the morning no less. But this was the man I had not seen in twelve years, nor really talked to in just as long. He wasn't there to hurt me, at least I hope that wasn't the case.

"Please, have a seat." I said motioning to the couch. "Sketch let me decorate the place when we moved in. Well, the paint was his job."

Dwayne was still as big as ever. Though now he had a lot less hair on his head, he was still a good looking man. He still had large arms that pressed at the fabric of his shirt. Dwayne was well trimmed and everything. He had aged to perfection since the last time I had seen him in the flesh.

"I can't believe it's been nearly twelve years since we last really saw each other." I remarked as he sat in a nearby chair to the one I was sitting in.

"And ten years since we last talked. No fault of your own." He smiled as he leaned his elbows on his knees. "Life gets out of control. You don't need to say sorry for all the missed time with me. I still kept the memories of that year in my head. Dany and me have been telling our daughter about you and your struggles in the foster care system. Simone really likes your books."

My smile faltered, it went away so fast as I pressed a hand to my stomach. Dwayne had a daughter, he was a daddy. But, where did that leave me? My unborn child wasn't going to have a dad. What kind of life was I going to give it?

"What's wrong, Annie?" Dwayne asked, apparently able to see my demeanor falling.

"The night he died, I just told Sketch that I was pregnant." I admitted.

"Oh, Cuz." He stood up from the couch and sat next to me.

I allowed him to hug me. He allowed me to cry on his shoulder. Now it was out. Now he knew what I was holding in me for a long time now.

He pulled back and looked at me. Then he pushed my hair back and looked at the bandage on the side of my head. My hair was shorter now, which was because of the attack. There was a knick in the top of my ear and a large bruise was pancaked on the left side of my face from the damage I endured that night.

"What's happening about the funeral?" He asked.

"Sketch's body will be released tomorrow and I haven't figured out what to do about a funeral. He wanted to get buried next to his mother back in Pensacola. At least that's what he and I discussed."

Dwayne smiled. "Let me take care of everything, Annie."

"I can't let you do that. This isn't your problem, Dwayne." I said as he stood up and looked down at me.

"You're as much a family member now as you were back then. You're my little cousin, you're a part of the Anoa'i family. Let family take care of family. Money is no issue to me, Annie. Taking care of you is my priority now."

"But what are you going to do? Send Sketch's body back to Florida?"

"If that's what I have to do, then that's what I'm going to do. I'll make calls and make sure that it will happen." He knelt down in front of me. "I'll take care of you, Annie. You have to trust me."

Why should I not trust him? If he was still the big name man that he was, he was able to do what he wanted. And from the past, I remembered what it was like to have him worry about me. He was telling me that he was going to take care of me, regardless of the time that had passed. In the middle of my front room with him, I knew that Dwayne was telling the truth.

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><p>I woke up at noon to the door bell. I was sleeping a lot, some times in pain. And since sleep was hard for me the night before and with the late night visit from Dwayne 'The Rock" Johnson, I needed all the sleep I could get. But now I needed to get up and get some things done. But the last thing on my mind was for Dwayne to show up again.<p>

Which he did. He even had Chinese with him.

Suddenly my stomach growled when I smelt the orange chicken.

"Yeah, your publisher mentioned that orange chicken and chow mein is your favorite food." He smiled at me as I let him in. "I figured you would like to eat something while I tell you the good news." He said.

The kitchen hadn't been touched since the night Sketch died. It was still as clean as ever, since cleaning was Sketch's job. There was a n island in the middle of the kitchen. The apartment was gifted with a large kitchen, which was why Sketch and I chose it.

"This is a lovely room, Annie." Dwayne said when I led him into it.

"We declared that this was going to be the starting place of our future. When we have children, and the children have children, this is where all our Thanksgivings and Christmases are going to be held. Right here." I motioned to the place. "We were going to decorate for Christmas this year, we had decided on the theme and everything." I said pulling out a stool. "Just put it down right here is fine. We don't drink around here, so sorry if I can't offer you a beer."

"That's okay. Today, I wanted to give you some information that I dug up. One, it is possible for Sketch to be buried in Pensacola with his mother, and his father. I'm getting it arranged for Sketch to be flown to Florida. The Funeral costs are all paid up and the word has gone out to the family."

"What?" I stopped opening the carton of orange chicken.

"I told everyone about what happened. They are arranging to come to Florida to support you."

"What?" I repeated.

"You thought they would not answer when you were involved, Annie?" He asked.

I looked away and down at the counter. But, nearly twelve years? Why would they accept me after all these years? I didn't try hard enough to stay in touch. Life, life was hard. I mean, my fiance was dead, the woman that tried to kill her own daughter and unborn grandchild was still out there somewhere, who knows where. And here I am being told that I am still apart of a family that I only had for two months, twelve years ago.

"Why?" I asked Dwayne.

"Because, you were always a part of the family, Annie." He touched the back of my head, playing with my hair slightly. "They never forgot about you, they never forgot to love you like family. I had to force Aunt Patricia to stay in Pensacola because she wanted to hug you to death. She never lost her love for the daughter she and Sika wanted to adopt. Don't doubt yourself with me, Annie. You're still my little cuz."

"So, thank you, for all the effort things you are doing for me."

"There is something else, I wanted to talk to you about." Dwayne's voice changed. "With all of this going on, would you consider moving to Florida?"

"Say what now?"

"I'm living out of Miami, my daughter is there, Dany and I are divorced but I still do a lot of stuff for movies. You would have Patricia there, you would have family to help you." He sighed when he saw my face. "Look, you have plenty of time to think about it. But right now I want you to feel safe. I want to know that you're okay."

"Right now I want to eat." I dumped the carton of orange chicken onto a plate. "I want to do right by Sketch. Right now, I don't want to remind myself that I have a biological, drug addicted mother out there that wants money and she killed the love of my life for it." I felt the tears starting to threaten to fall. "I have to think about the baby, I have to think about what to do when the funeral is over. There is so much out there that I need to think about and there is no time for me to sit down to do it all."

"Hey, hey," Dwayne tucked a strand of my hair behind my good ear. "That's why I am doing all the fretting for you. This is why I want to do it. I want to do it for you so you don't have to worry about it."

"But I'm damaged." I said.

"Now you are. But you won't be forever." He brushed my tears away. "You will be a great mother, you will tell your son or daughter everything about Sketch."

I now understood what it was like to laugh and cry at the same time. That's what I did. I laughed as I cried at the endearment that Dwayne had for me. It's what I needed at that moment. It's what Sketch would have wanted.

"Okay," I whispered as he rubbed my back. "Okay. I trust you, Dwayne. You're my family. Of course I have to trust you."

"Now that's what I wanted to hear from you, Annie. Eat, I want to hear about your life. Like, oh," he sat back in his stool. "How about you tell me how you and Sketch got together."

"Well, if you want to know, he showed up at the apartment I was living at with my grandmother and Sarah. I mean I had been in contact with him for as long as I had left Florida. He was accepted to Berkley, which wasn't far from San Francisco. He just showed up and even though I was in high school, my grandmother Leslie loved him off the bat. Actually, he spent the next Christmas with us since his mom was gone by then and his father was no where in sight. We had a special Christmas. A real special Christmas." I sighed.

"How was it special?"

I smiled. "He took me out for a late night walk on the Bay. We picked up sea shells and exchanged them as Christmas gifts."

"Sounds nice. I didn't know about that." Dwayne said.

"We made our first ornaments that year, Sketch and me. And every year since then we made more. We would go to the coast for the day and pick up the shells and drift wood. We could craft Christmas ornaments."

"Thanksgiving?"

"Sketch and me would get together with Grandma. Sarah, she started going down hill shortly after I came to live with her. I would rather forget about those nights. Grandma fell in love with Sketch because she and him were art people. The thing Sketch and I would do would sit and I would write and he would sketch, like his name sake. When Perry Miser was bought he did the artwork for all of it. And all the illustrations for the next couple books. It was our thing because he pushed for me to publish the Perry Miser books."

Dwayne smiled as he watched me continue to eat.

"You loved him, didn't you?" He asked, but he didn't need the answer. I'm sure he had seen it on my face.

I loved him. I loved Sketch with all my heart. It was hard to loose him, in this sort of way. It was going to be even harder. Grandma had been laid to rest back when I was twenty and then it truly did become just Sketch and me.

Would I be able to go on without him? I was going to have to. It was now my worse nightmare and I had to live with it for the rest of my life.

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><p><strong>Well there it is. I hope you liked it. This is as good as an explanation as to why Annie hadn't had contact with the Anoa'i family and why she was engaged to Sketch. Stay tuned I will have more to come.<strong>


	3. Chapter 2: Welcome Home Annie

**Welcome Home Annie**

**August 15th, 2014 **

**- - -Three days until Sketch's funeral- - -**

Dwayne shook me awake. "We're here, Annie."

I was groggy, the long flight had knocked me out nearly an hour in. The sun was setting by the time we had landed at Pensacola International Airport. All I knew was that Sketch's body had been sent to the funeral home here in Pensacola. The Funeral was set for three days from then and my mood had gotten sour, too sour for my taste.

"Dany is waiting for us in the airport with Simone." Dwayne said as he grabbed my overhead bag for me.

"Anyone else?"

"Nope. The one thing I learned about this family, you tell people when someone is going to show up at an airport it's going to get even more crowded. Besides, I want to shock the crap out of Patricia. She thinks you're coming in tomorrow."

I smiled. This was going to be an interesting day. It was going to be an interesting couple of days. I was going to be staying with Ms. Patricia and Mr. Sika. Myritza was flying in from Ohio where she was living with her older brother Matt, whom I never met. Summer was going to Georgia Tech and she was coming in. Vanessa, no one was able to get a hold of her.

"Have you contacted Joe and the twins?"

"Solofa took care of the twins. Joe is stuck with work for the moment, but he's gonna try his hardest to get back here for the funeral."

I nodded. It was only recently that I learned that Joe was going by the name of Roman Reigns in the WWE. He was a big thing, and from the pictures he was really big, a lot different from the guy I lived in a house with for about a month. Dare I say, he was a beautiful man.

I hadn't seen Dany in some time. Simone was just a little tyke when I saw her last, yet when I saw her and Dany waiting for us in the airport it was enough for me to remember Thanksgiving and Christmas all over again. Dany was the first to approach me.

"Oh sweetie." She said pulling me into a hug. "I'm so sorry. I'm so very sorry." She said into my hair.

At least my face was a little more presentable. The swelling and the bruising had gone down and the bandage had gotten smaller. There were stitches keeping my skin together and I was told that those could get taken out within a week or two. That was good. And the baby, the baby was doing okay.

"Are you okay?" She asked turning my head to look at the part of my ear where the bullet had passed through.

"I'm fine. We're fine. The doctors said that with the trauma it would be better if I stayed off my feet, to relax for the sake of the baby." I said.

"How long are you?"

"About a month, maybe a month and a half."

"Wow, this family gets bigger every year it seems like." Dany said rubbing my stomach. "Speaking of family, Simone here is a lot older now than she was when you last saw her."

"Yeah, you were about a year old or so if I recall." I said holding my hand out to the teenager. "I'm Annella Grange."

"Any relation to Hermoine Granger?" She asked stepping back after shaking my hand.

"Possibly cousins but I don't have a magic wand, sorry." I smiled. "But Annie is just as fine if you want."

"Cool."

We got out of there just before people started to realize that Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson was there at all. That was just fine. But apparently the local news had caught wind that Annie Grange's fiance was being buried at Pensacola Heights Cemetery. At least that's what the people on the radio said.

"You're pretty famous for a new writer." Simone said.

"I was a minor celebrity growing up. I won a Miami Sun story competition, got some cash out of it, sure. But everyone liked hearing that a foster kid is capable of winning anything. That was around the time that my last foster family abused me and my then social worker asked Ms. Patricia and Mr. Sika to keep me until I found a home." I said as I watched some of the familiar sights pass by the Tahoe.

"Jess said that you and cousin Joe were something like a couple for a while." Simone said.

I shrugged. "I had feelings for him, sure. What teenage girl wouldn't? But at that time I had not had the best life. And Joe, he was warm and welcoming, he was someone that I could trust." I said thinking in terms of a teenager again. "But I knew he liked Jess more. Him and I only shared like two kisses total. But the one person I fell in love with was Sketch."

She made a sound, like she didn't believe me. Or like she was thinking of something. Whatever it was, it didn't matter.

When I saw that blue house, the one so close to the beach, it felt strange. It felt like I was sixteen again. It felt like I was back in that car pulling up to the sidewalk remembering what I was feeling. I thought it was going to be like every other home that I was placed in. They would act all kind in front of Ms. Trent and then when she left it would be Hell for me. I found out quickly that even before I got there, Myritza was all too happy to have another sister. And a famous one too.

Now, twelve years later, I was back. I stepped out of the Tahoe with Simone, Dany and Dwayne and then we proceeded to head to the front door.

"It's not uncommon for us to drop by. I want you to hang back and surprise Patricia and Sika." Dwayne said.

"Got it." I said as he opened the front door.

I followed them into the house. Just inside the door was a banner that said Welcome Home Annie on it, strung up the banister of the staircase. I bit my lip to see the balloons and stuff like that hanging from places in the front room. They were going to throw a party for me, a homecoming party. It was the nicest thing anyone could have done for me.

"Aunt Patty!" Dwayne called.

"In the kitchen, young man." I heard the familiar voice of Sika yell in response.

"I brought Dany and Simone with me." He said walking down the hall. "Aunt Patty?"

I heard the sniffling from the older woman. I caught a glimpse of her sitting at the kitchen table, the table that I ate breakfast at almost every day that I had been there, and she was crying.

"What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? My daughter isn't here. Why didn't she come back with you? Why did she have to wait?" She asked.

"Are you talking about Annie?" Dany asked as she went to console the older woman.

"Yes, Annie. Why did she have to get caught up back in San Francisco? I can't wait any longer for her to get here, to come back home."

"She's been like this since the moment she woke up." Sika said as he was cutting what looked like pork at the counter near the oven.

My stomach gurgled slightly. I had forgotten how hungry I had gotten lately.

"Aunt Patty." Dwayne rubbed the back of his bald head. "This is not what I expected to come back to." He said that to me as he looked at me.

"Couldn't you have begged her, Dwayne."

"There was no begging involved." I said. "I came on my own. I think he didn't mention that we took an earlier flight."

The look of utter shock passed over Ms. Patricia's face. Before I realized what was happening, Dany and Simone had to step back so fast or they would have been run over by Ms. Patricia as she ran towards me. In the next moment she and I were sharing a hug unlike any other I had ever been given. Well, minus the anaconda vice grip of a hug I received from Dwayne and much of the other large men in the Anoa'i family when I arrived on that Thanksgiving Day in 2002.

"Oh my little girl." She said pulling me back so that she could see my face. "You're back, you're home."

I didn't argue with her. I could never argue with her. Besides I didn't have the heart to tell her that I was not going to be staying there.

"I missed you, too, Ms. Patricia." I said as I put my hands over hers. "I didn't think I would get this kind of welcoming."

"You were always my daughter, blood or no blood." She said.

"That's right, Daughter. And you better get used to it." Sika said as he approached.

His hug was bigger and stronger but at least it wasn't around my midsection. Though I did feel a few small pops in my upper back as he hugged me.

"Did you tell them, Dwayne?" I asked, glancing at him after Sika had released me.

"Nope, I was leaving that up to you."

"Great, thank you." I rolled my eyes at him as I readjusted my top.

"What are you two talking about?" Patricia asked.

I took a deep breath. "The night Sketch died, we were going out to celebrate the news. I got the confirmation from the doctor. I'm pregnant." I said pressing my hands to my stomach in further give them the idea.

"Pregnant?" Patricia grabbed my shoulders. "You're going to have a baby?"

"I'm pregnant. About a month and a half a long at this point. But yes, I'm going to have a baby." I smiled bigger at her.

"I'm going to be a grandma again!" She nearly screamed before pulling me into another hug.

This family was all about hugs. Most of them seemed to do that even without knowing someone. It was always a hug from someone. It was no different now, Patricia and Sika hugging me. Patricia was crying happy tears while Dany, Dwayna and Simone were smiling at the sight in front of them.

"I can't believe you're having a baby, Annie. Have you chosen names yet." Patricia asked.

"Patty." Sika shook his head. "Let the girl breathe before you bombard her with all these questions. She just lost the love of her life."

"I'm sorry, sweetie." Patricia rubbed my arms. "I'm just so, wow, seeing you here and now learning I'm going to be a grandma. It's just so exciting. But yes, yes, I understand. You lost Sketch, you need time to mourn for his loss. Um, why don't I take you up to your old room. You'll be surprised, the kids hadn't changed a thing since you've been gone. Well, I haven't."

That was another fact that I could have not expected. She was right, the room was back to the way it was. Or should I say, it had never changed. Not one bit. There were still the two desks at opposite sides of the room. My bed was still next to my desk, and it was still next to the door. While on Myritza's side of the room was still all bright and beautiful, all the while overlooking the backyard and had a great view of the beach.

"See, I hadn't changed a bit since you've been gone." Patricia said from the doorway.

I smiled as I turned to look at her. "Thank you."

"Luggage coming through." Dwayne was heard coming towards the bedroom door.

He put the bags on the bed that had once been Myritza's and then Dwayne turned towards me.

"Well, we'll be heading to Miami now. But we'll be back by the funeral." Dwayne said.

"Let me see you guys out." I said smiling slightly as I followed him out of the room. "You don't know how grateful I am for you to do all of this, Dwayne."

"No problem, cuz." He smiled at me when we got to the bottom of the stairs. "That's what family is for."

They kept saying it, they kept on saying that I was family. Maybe if they said it more then I would finally believe it.

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><p><strong>Okay, last chapter was a mess, I'll admit it. This chapter, not so much I hope.<strong>

**But there is an issue that I need to work out and maybe you guys could help me. Can you help me choose the path that this story takes? I started out with one but it just started getting bogged down and I ran out of steam with it because I had not direction. I want to pair Annie up with someone in this story, but that is the issue, I don't know who.**

**So I'm going to ask this. Who should Annie be paired with?**

**A) Joe  
>B) Jon Good<br>C) Colby Lopez  
>D) Name someone you want that is not on the list.<strong>

**I'll take a few days and after reading through your PMs and reviews I'll try to start this story up again.**


	4. Chapter 3: Sketch's Funeral

**Well, here's Chapter Three. Enjoy everyone.**

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><p><strong>Sketch's Funeral<strong>

**- - -August 18th, 2014- - -**

On my wedding day I would have worn a beautiful white dress, a white wedding gown that would make me the princess for the day. But this was not my day. This was Sketch's day. This was the day he was going to be laid to rest with his mother and with his father. Myritza had flown down to attend the funeral and she brought with her a dress.

"I wasn't sure if you could fit it." She said as she and I were getting ready in our old room. "Mom told me your new size when she was doing your laundry."

I sat on my bed looking at the pictures that I had brought with me, the pictures that were of Sketch, Sketch and me and the lives we had lived. The happy times we had together.

"I'm sorry. I don't know how many people have told you this already but I really am sorry, Annie." She said sitting down on the bed next to me.

"Thank you. He was one of the few that I kept in contact with. He said the reason why he went to Berkley was because he wanted to be close to me."

She cooed at the that piece of information. "That is so sweet." Myritza said as she looked at the photo album in my lap. "Where was this one taken at?"

Myritza was pointing to the picture that was taken of me and Sketch together. We were covered in what looked like paint, laughing.

"My grandmother took that picture of us. We were painting the front room and we sort of got into a very expensive paint fight. Light blue is the color of the front room with light color furniture. Luckily we hadn't picked out the furniture yet. It was such a fun day. This was before my grandmother passed on."

"I'm sorry to hear about that. Was she nice?"

"Oh yeah, she was the best grandmother I could ask for." I flipped a few pages in the photo album. "Sketch and Leslie were best of friends. They did art together and that was their thing. Luckily she was around when my first Perry Miser book was published, she suggested that Sketch do the illustrations. Perry was going to be our project. The first one is of that creative writing project that I had intended to be a short story for the Miami Sun. Well it was picked up for publishing again shortly after that. I was about eighteen when it was picked up by my publisher."

"That sounds so cool, you know. You had it all."

"Even a small family. Sarah wasn't one of those, unfortunately." I added, thinking about the woman who had yet again ruined my life. "I can't believe your mom still considers me her daughter."

"She always had. Even though we hadn't seen each other since 2002, haven't heard from you in ten years, she always considered you a major part of this family. Everyone did."

I bit my lip. "Dwayne wants me to move here permanently."

"Here, as in Pensacola?"

"As in, Florida at least. He said that there are going to be family members here. Ms. Patricia, Sika, of course, but so is Dany and even Simone. There are others who live around here, I'm sure. And yet," I trailed off.

"You had a life back in Oakland, right?"

"My publishers, my home needs to be taken care of. There needs to be a lot done before I can even consider moving." I shrugged as I closed the photo album and then put it on the bed next to me. "But then again, I'm not sure I want to move."

"I can only guess you know, that is where you work. That is the home you and Sketch were going to make your lives in. I can see how hard it is to move on from that."

"But it's a harder choice now. Now I have at least most of the family that I had lost contact with back again. Dwayne has already tried to get me to agree to move back here. But that's that hard thing, I don't think I can."

"It was a hard choice moving away for college. When I got accepted to a college up in Ohio, I made it solely on the fact that at least I was going to be close to my brother Matt and his family. We get together and have family night just so that I wouldn't have to feel alone in the dorm. Several times I had spent Christmas up there with them, or Mattie would foot the bill and have me fly home for Thanksgiving."

Myritza had it. She was a fashion designer out of Ohio. But the biggest shocker was what she said next.

"I've been offered a job out in New York." She admitted.

"New York, as in New York City?" I asked as she was applying some light makeup around my eyes.

"Yeah, that New York. I was working at a boutique in Cincinnati and some bigwig from New York came by and saw some of my experimental clothing designs, liked it and she wants me to come to New York for a consultation on a Winter line she is working on."

"That is so great, My." I smiled at her in the mirror. "Did you stop writing?"

"No, I haven't. But my dream was more towards fashion. I still write, in my free time when I am all alone and bored."

"At least you haven't given up on writing. I don't know what I would do if that were the case for me."

"You would more than likely go insane." She said.

"Yeah, you're right. I would."

There was a knock on the bathroom door. "It's open." Myritza yelled.

A young woman poked her head in. She looked like Summer, Summer who was all grown up. But when she moved to step inside the door, her stomach entered before she did.

"Hi, Annie. Remember me?" She asked.

"Summer?" She nodded at my bewildered stare at her face and then at her stomach. "Are you?"

"Pregnant, yeah. Six months along now. And the baby is growing so big." She said putting her hand on her stomach. "I heard the big news that you were cooking up your own kid."

"I'm only about a month and a half along." I stated. "But I'll be showing by Christmas time. Who's the father?"

"A boyfriend of mine. We weren't trying for one, trust me. I'm sorry to say he had to work today."

"No, that's all right, Summer. At least you were able to get here."

She smiled at me. "Gosh, all the memories I really have of twelve years ago was of me following Vanessa's role and treated you like Crap."

"But it didn't last long." Myritza said, putting down the mascara that I refused to put on.

"You said you didn't blame me. Or that you didn't take offense to what I was doing."

I nodded. "Yeah, and I still don't."

And then she smiled at me. It was the kind of smile the met the eyes, a calm and understanding smile. It was something she was going to be practicing for the rest of her life with her child.

"Have you heard from Joe yet?" Myritza asked, changing the subject.

"I've tried calling him, but it goes to voice mail." I responded looking down at my hands. "I wouldn't blame him for hating me."

"Life gets in the way, Annie." She squeezed my shoulder. "Loosing touch with someone or a group of people for a long period of time is an almost too common thing anymore. But we still thought of you like a sister."

"Yeah, and after a while, Vanessa stopped griping about you. Of course she's with Brandon."

"Brandon Kellett? They snob guy that got kicked off the football team, that Brandon Kellett?"

"Yeah, they've been together on and off since high school. They're married now, living up in Jacksonville Mississippi now. But we've tried getting a hold of her but she hasn't returned our calls either."

That wouldn't be a surprise, especially considering that Vanessa hated me the moment I stepped foot in the house twelve years ago.

I was beginning to worry that Joe wasn't going to show up.

* * *

><p>The funeral home was packed with people. I couldn't believe everyone that had shown up. I mean there were people from the Football team there.<p>

"Mr. Olsen, Mrs. Olsen?" I asked seeing the two teachers that I had back at Pensacola Union High School.

Mr. Olsen was the football coach, Mrs. Olsen was my sophomore math teacher. I had been the team manager when I was at Union High, much of the time I would ride home with Joe afterward, but I was known for helping to set up and take down the practice cones. I didn't get the chance to go to any of their games but it was nice to see the people that were a second family to me.

"Oh, Annie." Mr. Olsen said opening his arms.

I allowed him and his wife to hug me. I was an adult now, there was no need for any awkward moments. This was my time of mourning and I was rather happy to have them there to respect Sketch.

And that was when I saw her. As I was talking to Mister and Mrs. Olsen, there was one girl I had tried desperately to keep in touch with.

"Sandy." I said as she approached with the football player that had been her boyfriend, Kevin. He had grown up big and strong. Sandy, she was holding a little girl in her arms. The little girl had Sandy's sandy hair and a button nose that was so cute to look at.

"Hey, Annie." Sandy said and then smiled at me. "It's so good to see you again."

I happily hugged her being sure not to hurt the little girl on her right shoulder. Then Kevin gave me an awkward hug, but it was still a hug to me.

"It's good to see that the two of you tied the knot."

Sandy looked at the ring on her finger. "Yeah, we have you to thank for that."

"Thank me? Please, he was a big chicken to ask you out in the first place." I pointed to Kevin.

He ran a hand over his short black hair. "You know how to put someone on the spot, don't you?"

"What can I say, I'm a writer and I know how to see the expressions. He couldn't stop staring at you." I smiled, leaving out that he had been staring at her ass for a while because there were children around. "So, who's this little thing?"

"This is Antoinette, Ann for short."

"It seems you've had a big impression on the family, Annie." I turned around when I heard someone speak behind me.

Jess Kole was there, the dark skinned girl that I had physical education with when I had gone to school with her and Joe. And at her side there was a little girl about maybe five years old. She, the little girl, hid behind Jess's jean clad legs in a nice little black dress with white frills around the collar and the sleeves.

"Hi Jess, glad you could make it."

"Actually, I'm not going to be able to stay. I did promise Patricia that Tera could come though. I didn't want to at first but Joe insisted that Tera get to know you."

Was it just my imagination or did Jess seem hostile towards me? It seemed like that at least.

"I really am sorry for what's happened to you, to Sketch. I really wish I could stay but I can't." She said. "Tera, this is Annie, the Annie your Daddy talks about a lot." She said pulling the girl out from behind her legs.

I knelt down to look at her. "Hi, sweetie. I'm Annella Grange." "You're Auntie Nella?"

"Auntie Nella?" I asked tilting my head. "Everyone just calls me Annie."

"Grandma said that you were the daughter she wished she could have." She said.

"She did, so that would make me an auntie to you?" I asked and she nodded. "Well, I guess I can live with that. Auntie Nella, that name is going to have to grow on me."

She smiled and then wrapped her little arms around my neck. She looked a lot like Joe, the caramel skin, the curly hair that was being held back in a pony tail. Though she had brown eyes, not the gray eyes that her father had.

When I went to stand up to speak with Jess one more time, I saw that she wasn't there. At all.

"She left." Sandy said, while juggling her little Ann. "Sorry, Annie."

And I wished that Joe was there otherwise the day wouldn't have hurt as bad as it was starting to.

* * *

><p>If the people at the funeral was a lot, the burial had even more. There were news people filming it, not that I didn't mind that. I mean, everyone had a right to know. But it seemed like a majority of the Pensacola residence came out to support the foster kid. Some were people I had passed in school, back in my sophomore year. People who were fans of my books, who knew that Sketch had been the illustrator. But the vast majority of the people allowed into the cemetery was the Anoa'i family.<p>

Solofa and his wife followed behind Sika and Patricia, as they followed me to the grave sight. Dwayne, Jonathan, Josh and Kevin were the pall barriers. They carried Sketch's casket from the funeral hearse and through the cemetery all the way to the plat that was reserved for him. There was a priest waiting for everyone to show up. I held the hand of Tera while she carried some white flowers with her. Sandy, who was on my other side, carried her daughter and also a long stemmed white rose.

I looked around. Joe hadn't arrived yet. Sika had said that he would try to be there but he wasn't. I didn't see him, I only saw his family. This was not what I wanted. It wasn't a family without Joe.

My attention went back to Sketch, watching as the casket was placed over the hole in the ground. The priest started speaking about Sketch.

"Here lies Spencer William Carlson, but is best known by family and friends as Sketch. He had a love for sports, having gone to Berkley on a football scholarship, but still did art on the side. He is best known for illustrating the Perry Miser books with his fiance, Annella Grange. He loved her very much, he will always love her no matter what." The Priest said.

I had never really thought about the after life. But I promised myself that I would not fall in love with anyone else, I would not let my unborn child call another man Daddy.

Once it was all said and done, I stepped forward and kissed the lid of Sketch's coffin. I pressed my forehead to the cool wood and began crying, all over again. The anguish was there. I missed him, I missed my beloved so much. How many days now had it been since I last kissed him? A week, or more? Time now seemed to drag on and it was hard for me to think straight. But the anguish still wore on. The stages of Grief seemed to be out of order, but it was still active for me.

Dwayne actually had to pull me off the casket, wrapping his strong arms around me as he did so. I leaned my head against his shoulder as others came up to pay their respects. Friends of Sketch, old school friends, a lot of the football team was there and they gave me their condolences as they stepped back into the group of people.

By the time it was all over with I was crying again. That's when I felt a small hand put itself into mine, and I looked down to see Tera. I smiled softly at her, feeling a bit better about it all. I ran my thumb over the back of her hand as finally Sketch's coffin was lowered.

* * *

><p><strong>Well I think I found my groove again. I'm not really sure how all of you like this update but I would like to hear your comments. Until next time everyone!<strong>


	5. Chapter 4: Joe Returns with His Friends

**Here's Chapter 4, Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><strong>Joe's Back and He Brought Friends<strong>

My phone started ringing, making me jerk slightly from the sleep. Another late night call, well at least the first one was a physical visit. As I tried to move I found the weight of Tera sleeping in the bed next to me. Not wanting to wake the girl up, I reached over her for my phone.

"Hello?" I asked, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

"Annie?" A deep voice asked. Was it just me and my sleep deprived self, or did this person sound like Joe Anoa'i?

"Yes." I asked as I went to lay back down on the bed.

"It's Joe." He confirmed for me.

I couldn't lay back down. "Joe?" I couldn't believe I was hearing this.

"Yeah, I know, it's been a long time hasn't it?" He asked as I pushed myself out of the bed. "I know it's late. We're over on the other side of America and it's actually midnight here."

I left Myritza and Tera in the room. I had my house coat on and I went downstairs so that I wouldn't bother anyone else.

"It's been a long time, I agree Joe. I think it was mostly my fault."

"No, don't say that Annie. Life is like that. We get busy, we have stuff here that we have to take care of. I was just surprised to hear that you and Sketch were together. And now you're pregnant."

"Well, I just learned you had a daughter." I said as I started down the stairs. "She's a sweet little thing."

"Really?"

"Yeah, she fell asleep in my bed with me tonight. Jess let her stay the night. I'm now her Auntie Nella."

Joe made a sound, which sounded like he was outside. "Good, I was worried that she wouldn't take to you. She doesn't really like new people."

"Well, I did show her my Perry Miser books and she was all for them." I had reached the bottom of the stairs at this time. "Jonathan and Josh made it here to be pall barriers with Dwayne and Kevin."

"Kevin? Kevin Whittaker? The one that Sandy Wilson started dating?"

"Yeah, they are now married and have a little girl named Antoinette."

"Wow. That's big news to me."

"Why is it that the holidays, weddings and funerals bring lost loved ones together again? They live in Tampa now, Kevin's a PE teacher for elementary school kids."

I sat down at the table in the kitchen. I pulled a chair out and sat there, leaning on one hand to prop my head up.

I heard a car door close on Joe's end of the line. "Are you leaving?"

"Yeah, I'm coming home for a few days. My Shield teammates were given some time off with me. I'm sorry if I couldn't catch up with you at the funeral. I'm also sorry I couldn't pick up the phone and just call you until now. It's just,"

I interrupted him. "I understand, you're pretty famous with that WWE thing."

I heard him laugh slightly. "Still not a fan of it?"

"No, I'm not."

"Who's not a fan of what?" I heard a voice ask in the background.

I didn't recognize that voice. It was a guy with a deep voice, which seemed to be appropriate for wrestlers to have. But this was someone I didn't know or didn't recognize.

"Just Annella, that woman I told you about." Joe responded. "Can you take the wheel, Colby?"

I heard some other guy respond that he would. Maybe I should figure out what the Shield group was all about. I figured if I was a part of this wrestling family then I needed to know who Joe is working with.

"I hope you don't mind, but I'm bringing my stable mates with me to Pensacola."

"I don't mind, but why?"

I heard another car door slam shut. "Well, I've mentioned you through the years, I guess they want to pay their respects."

"Who are these people?"

"Colby Lopez and Jon Good."

I tried to keep those names in mind. "Oh, okay. Do you know when you're getting here?"

"Some time tomorrow, maybe midday. We're catching a late flight out of Seattle right now."

So that was why he was calling late.

"How was it?"

"The funeral?" I asked realizing I didn't know what Joe was asking about.

"Yeah, the funeral. Was it okay?"

"For the most part, yeah. It was a funeral, it was more about mourning that anything else. I did see a lot of the guys from the football team there. They all paid their respects for him and me. We get back to your mom's home and…"

"Our mom's home, Annie." Joe corrected me.

"I'm not that close to accepting everything the way everyone think it is. But it was a home that I missed, Joe." From in the background I heard something gagging, before I also heard someone speak up.

"Oh, that sounds so sweet, Joe." The deep voice guy said.

"Jon, I swear," Joe growled slightly. That made me smile. "Jon Good, he's not very good a being sentimental."

"Interesting man."

"Actually you and him have something in common. He's from the east end of Cincinnati, you grew up in the foster care system."

In this day and time, now is hard to meet anyone who grew up in the kind of life that I had. But then again, there weren't a lot of people who became successful with morals. But then again, this guy didn't sound so nice.

"I should be going, Joe." I finally said. "It's late and you need to get to the airport." I yawned and stretched, feeling the pain setting in my back.

"Yeah, you're right. You usually are. Can you kiss Tera for me?" He asked.

"Yeah, sure." I said standing up. "See you soon, big guy."

We got of the phone with each other short after that. Sleep was trying to control me, and in a near zombie like state I went staggering upstairs. Tera was still in my bed, on her side facing away from the window. Myritza was still asleep over in her bed, sound asleep. So I climbed right into bed, pulled the covers over Tera and settled in behind her.

I kissed the back of her head slightly. It was an unnatural thing for me to do, she wasn't my daughter. But she was such a kind little girl. She always seemed to make me smile even when I was feeling sad. It was that thought that I kept in mind as I slowly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

><p>The next day: August 19th, 2014<p>

I awoke to Tera screaming. It's not that I was prepared for it, but it was noon after all. I had to glance at my phone to see what time it was. It was a little after noon, and when I padded out of the bedroom in just my pajama bottoms and a t-shirt I nearly collided with someone. That someone being a man that I had never seen before. I would have remembered that face and those light blue eyes.

"You must be Annella, I mean Annie." He said, his eyes traveling down me. Which made me self conscious about my body at the moment. It also brought back the bad times when men's eyes traveled over my body.

"You're which one, Jon Good?" I asked, holding my hand out to him.

"Yep." He popped the P on the word and smiled cockily at me. "It's a little late to be sleeping in, don't you think?" And yet he didn't give me a handshake.

"You would sleep in as well if you got a three AM wake up call." I remarked, crossing my arms.

His eyebrows raised slightly at that. "That was my fault?"

"I never said it was. The only reason why I am up now is because Tera was screaming."

Jon laughed. "Well, I hate to break it to you, Sunshine, it wasn't a bug she was screaming at. Her Daddy's home. I think he would love to see you."

There was a sarcastic tone when he said "Love," which made it sound so much worse. Sure I would love to see Joe again but there was a man blocking the way to the staircase. Jon didn't look like he was interested in seeing the reunion of a lifetime, which maybe there is a reason why he was up there anyway.

"Look, I have to get going. If you want to talk to me later, I'll spare you some time." I said stepping around him.

"Sounds like you don't want me around." He stated.

"Sounds to me like you hate me. So I'm going to leave you alone until you wish to speak to me like a real adult and not some childish teenager." Really, what was that man's issues? Did he like treating people as if they were the dirt on his shoes? Putting people down so that he can feel superior to them? Who knew because I sure wasn't a psychiatrist.

I left Jon up there on the landing in front of the bedrooms and headed downstairs. It was in the front room when I saw the fully grown version of Joe Anoa'i and he was putting down Tera. When Joe stood back up his head turned to look at me.

"Annie?" He asked.

I felt self conscious about my face, I just didn't know if I was appealing to look at. I was missing a piece of my ear, I still had a bandage on my face and now I was sporting a new and choppy haircut. I needed a new one some time soon. There was another man there, I was expecting to be Colby Lopez. He smiled at me but I was too busy looking at Joe to really notice it.

"Oh God, Annie." Joe said as I got to the last step.

He practically picked me up off the last step. He grew more since his teenage years. My small body pressed against his showed it really well. I hugged Joe around his neck and pressed my head against his. How long did we stand there, just hugging each other? How long did Patricia cry seeing Joe and I back together? It seemed like eternity, no really that what it felt like. It felt like I was in his arms together when he finally put me down.

"Oh, Annie." He pushed my hair back to see the bullet graze on my face. "I didn't know it would be this bad."

"This wasn't as bad as it had been. It was a lot worse." I pushed my hair back down.

"I'm still sorry for not being here yesterday."

"Tera made up for it." I said squeezing her hand when it found it's way into my own hand. "Don't worry, I understand, it's the job you chose."

He still looked guilty. "Annie, I'm still sorry."

"You've made it up for being here." I said stepping back from him slightly. "At least you got to see your little girl, even if it means paying respects to your friend's fiance."

Joe picked up Tera, she laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"We should go see Sketch's grave today." That wasn't Joe speaking, it was the man that looked like a werewolf. It was Colby that spoke up.

"Uh," Joe said, glancing at me. "We?"

"Yeah, I didn't stutter. I did say we." He crossed his arms, which I hadn't expected to see the muscles pushing at the fabric of his graphic t-shirt. "Hi, I'm Colby Lopez." He walked towards me with his hand out. "Jon Good should be around here."

"I saw him upstairs." I said shaking Colby's hand.

"Please tell me he was nice to you? He seems to think all the world's troubles center on women at the moment."

"Oh," I glanced around.

It was these awkward moments that I didn't really get along with. It was hard to find something to talk about.

"Let me go get dressed and then we can talk about heading out to the cemetery." I said and then I headed to the stairs.

Jon was walking down the stairs as I was heading up them. He stopped close to the top and then stepped to the wall to let me by. All the while he gave me this weird forced smile. I could tell it was forced because it just didn't seem natural.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it, Sunshine." He called me that yuck nickname again. The nickname that someone had used once before in my life, and it .

"Please call me something different." I requested as I reached the top of the stairs a few steps above the one he was standing on.

Jon barked a laugh, which to me sounded so cruel. He was laughing at me, probably because I had asked him to call me something different. Did he really get joy out of seeing me in emotional pain?

"Beyond what Joe says, you and me have nothing in common."

Where did that come from?

Before I could ask what his problem was, he practically ran the rest of the way down the stairs.

* * *

><p>It was around one when we got to the cemetery. Joe and Colby walked with me to the grave, Jon stayed back in the Tahoe to do whatever he was doing on his phone. I didn't know what that was, nor did I care. All I cared about what that Tera held my hand the entire way, and Colby had my other hand in the crook of his arm towards the large tombstone that had been where Sketch was finally able to rest.<p>

"That's Sketch's mom." I said pointing to the tombstone on the right of Colby. "Denise Carlson, she died from breast cancer. She's buried with her husband, Tom Carlson, he died of a broken heart."

I felt Colby rub my back. "Sorry to hear about that. Did he have a good bond with his parents?"

"Yeah, well sort of. His dad had wanted him to go to college on football, but he loved artwork even more. Did you guys in the football team tease him that he looked like a clean shaven Triple H?" I asked.

"Built like him. But we weren't far off. Triple H actually does artwork, he designs all his stuff." Joe smiled.

"Creepy." I added.

We stood there looking at the graves that belonged to Sketch, his mother and his father. It felt good to be there again, it felt like Sketch was there with us and he was at rest. It felt so great to have Joe there to say good bye to his friend and even someone was there that didn't know him was there in respect for me.

But the happiness didn't last all that long.

There was a car honk from behind us. Wouldn't you believe it, it was Jon doing all the noise.

"Does he have to be a jerk?" I asked, substituting jackass for jerk on behalf of Tera being there.

Joe shrugged. "He's got his own issues going on." He looked down at Tera and then at me. "How about we go out and get something to eat. We only have two days before we have to go back on the road."

"Okay." I said.

So we made our way back to the Tahoe. Tera had her booster seat next me in the middle of the Tahoe. Colby was driving and Joe was next to me in the middle seat. Jon got slapped in the back of the head by Colby before we left.

* * *

><p><strong>So there it is. Another update for all of you to enjoy. Did you guys like it? Let me know. Until next time!<strong>


	6. Chapter 5: When Life is Hard

**After a small break here is the next chapter. You'll figure out where Joe and Annie stand and possibly where the story is going from there.**

* * *

><p><strong>When Life is Hard<strong>

Colby and I were walking down the beach together. Like a gentleman he had my hand in the crook of his elbow. Joe was playing with Tera. Jon, well he was not there.

"Hey, have you thought about coming to a WWE event?" Colby asked as we headed to a large log that had washed ashore.

I shrugged as we sat down. "I guess it wouldn't be a bad idea. I mean I know that this family is a wrestling family. Joe hasn't asked me if I wanted to come to a show yet."

"He's already asked Jess to let Tera come to an event. It would be her first too, at least since The Shield Split up."

The Shield apparently had recently split up on the television, at least that's how I knew. But the three men were still friends behind the cameras.

"And since it would be your first time too, then you wouldn't mind coming along as well. Jess doesn't like wrestling all too much."

"Oh, well, I guess it would be something to look into. Would I have to be in the audience?"

"Nah, for Tera's sake you and her will be in your own locker room. Some of the other guys bring their kids on the road some times and they reserve a room in the back for them. Actually with the Authority around, Triple H's three girls are on the road during the summer."

Just hearing the name Triple H made me think about Sketch.

"It'll be hard, at least for me. This is the kind of stuff Sketch usually would be there for me. Most of my signings had him involved. He hurt his knee while in college, which gave him an exit plan when it came to football. He still loved it, he'd take me to almost all the local Berkley games. But his passion was in the arts. I was only around wrestling when I was sixteen."

"Ah," Colby nodded as we watched Joe swing his daughter around not too far from us. "You have to get used to it all over again."

"Pretty much."

"Did you ever see a WWE event?"

"Nope."

"But you watched it?"

"Well, I was pretty much dragged into it shortly after I got to the Anoa'i home. Apparently it is a family thing, to sit down around the living room television and just watch wrestling. Joe had to drag me to the first sit in and I just showed up so I wouldn't have to be dragged into it afterward. It was cool to see Solofa as Rikishi and Dwayne as The Rock playing on the television."

"Did you have any favorites?"

"Bret Hart, but that was because of the cool ring attire. And he was kind of cute for an older guy."

Colby laughed. "Jon Good's favorite was Bret Hart also. Great ring skills, and he learned and honed his mike skills from Hart when he started wrestling. Course then he just dropped out of school shortly after he started training. Jon was never really one that cared about school."

"Well that makes us different. I stuck with school. I got my diploma and went to college for a Creative Writing degree. I organized an at risk children's writing group, which Dwayne put some money into just to get my address."

"Sounds like something this family would do."

I watched Joe now, watched him with his daughter. That should have been Sketch, he should have been out on the sand, in our apartment playing with our child. But did he get it? No, it was taken from him, it was taken from me. He didn't deserve to lay six feet under while some woman was on the loose. The woman that was supposed to be a mother but was never one. She was out there, probably thinking of a way to get back to me, to get more money. She did steal my purse, my credit cards.

"Thinking about the past, Sunshine?" I heard Jon speak from behind us.

Colby and I turned to look at him. He was wearing some holey pants, a pair of ratty shoes and a tank top. He looked like he was plum proud of himself. For what? Getting himself dressed? For whatever reason he just started to remind me of Brandon Kellett so much that it wasn't funny.

"I heard you had a thing for Joe." Jon put out there for Colby to know.

"Childhood crush, one that he was all aware of." I responded. "A foster kid's first crush."

"What, little miss goody two shoes had dating problems?"

"Dude, now you're being a prick." Colby said.

Jon laughed as he plopped himself next to me on the log. "Look, Sunshine," he started to say.

"Don't call me that." I snapped at him.

"Okay, Princess. That better?" He asked but I didn't give him an answer, so he took that as I didn't care. "Okay, Princess it is then. Anyway, from what I hear Jess is jealous of you. Because apparently you got to Joe before she could. And now that you're back, she is not too fond of you."

"God, Jon, you're an ass." Colby said, pressing a hand to his face as if he was embarrassed by his friend.

I stood up. "I don't have any feelings for Joe. Him and I are brother and sister, at least that is how Ms. Patricia and Sika wanted for us. They were going to adopt me, to be the family that I needed. But let me tell you, I can't be nothing more to Joe than that, because Tera thinks of me as her Auntie Nella."

And he laughed. "Trust me, I was in with the family before you came back around. Vanessa hated you, Princess. She loathed you because you seem to always outshine her."

"I would outshine her only because I was being me. I was the smart one, I didn't take her BS and I did not take her boyfriend. By the way, aren't they happily together in Jackson, Mississippi? I was gone, I had no contact with them for ten years, I hadn't seen any of them for ten to twelve years, only because I lived in San Francisco for about two years but then she moved me, moved us to Oakland."

"She, your mother?" Colby asked in a calmer tone.

"Sarah, yes that woman. She ruined my life. She said they were too good for us. That rich people didn't like cockroaches like us. She's the reason why I lost contact with them in the first place. I blame her for my life, I blame her for my losses, I wish she never came back for me. And I wish you would leave me alone, Jon Good, you two faced degenerate!"

I stormed off, tears falling down my face. So this is what having pregnant hormones felt like. My only solace was the old bedroom that I had.

* * *

><p>There was a soft knock on the closed door. I had rushed back to the house and ran as fast as I could up the stairs. I didn't want to talk to anyone, at least that was my feeling at the moment. I wished I had been left alone but when I heard Ms. Patricia ask if she could come in, I didn't mind.<p>

"Yeah, sure." I said dabbing my eyes with a tissue.

She was the sweetest woman I had ever met. Maybe if she had adopted me then none of this would have happened. I would be in love with someone, they would still be alive and I would be married. I would be an Anoa'i at least.

"What's wrong sweetie?"

"It's my fault for everything again." I said looking down at my lap.

She sat down next to me. "What makes you think that?"

"Jon Good said that Jess hates me, she thought she had Joe all to herself, they have Tera together and she didn't have to worry about me coming back into the picture."

"Oh sweetie." Patricia said rubbing my back. "You can't control what people feel about you."

"Vanessa? She still pissed off with me?"

"Pissed off? No, I would say smoldering. She put herself in the situation she did. But I guess it doesn't help that Sika and I still think of you as our long lost daughter. Maybe it's our fault that she feels that way. Jess, I'm sure she isn't fond of Tera being named after you. But I would think that since you are with Sketch, were with Sketch, then she wouldn't have an issue."

"Apparently people think I can just jump from loving the man that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with and get into bed with a man I only knew back when I was sixteen." My voice rose, my anger was about to boil over and it did, into a river of tears as I broke down again. "I won't hesitate to say that Joe has grown into a handsome man, a good father, but that won't change anything. He'll never be more than a friend to me."

Patricia continued to rub my back. "I know that sweetie, have you talked to Joe about all of this?"

"No, because we're never alone. It's never just him and me today."

"Well, go find time to be with him, and just him. Talk it out and make sure you know he understands what's going on. That's all I can say on the issue."

She was right, I needed to be alone with Joe and talk about things.

* * *

><p>The house was pretty empty, except for Ms. Patricia, Sika, Jon, Joe, Colby, Tera and me. A lot of the other members had to go on with their lives. The twins had left that morning for their jobs on the road and a lot of the other family members had to go to their own lives. At least I was able to have met Matt, but very briefly.<p>

"Joe," I said as I came into the kitchen.

He was helping Tera wash her hands. Joe looked up and smiled at me. "Hey, I was wondering where you had gone off to."

"I need to speak with you alone, when you have a chance, please."

Colby and Jon came in from the back door, both with bare feet as they had left their shoes on the back porch. I acknowledged Colby but Jon, I didn't want to deal with him. His hand carressed my belly as he walked by me, and it made me feel stupid. It looked like he was happy about the contact, like he was testing how far he could get with me before I slapped him silly.

Then my attention went back to Joe and his daughter.

"Tera, go find Grandma." Joe said as she was drying her hands.

"Okay, Daddy. Hi, Auntie Nella."

"Hi sweetie." I smiled at her.

"When is my cousin coming?" She asked walking up to me and actually poking my belly.

"I think some time in the next year. May the doctor thinks."

She smiled. "That's the month Daddy and Colby have their birthdays."

"I plum forgot." I said. "My birthday is in December, a day after Christmas."

"Jon's is in December."

I really didn't want to talk about that guy. I really didn't care for him but I wasn't going to tell that to a little girl.

Joe walked up to me when Tera left. "What's wrong, Annie?"

"Can we get out of the house, just the two of us? Please, I don't want anyone walking in on us. I just want to talk about something that seems to be evident around here."

"Yeah, sure." He nodded. "Let's go for a drive." Joe went and found the keys to the Tahoe and then we headed out shortly after that.

We headed out of the driveway and then started down the road. It didn't take me long to realize where Joe was heading, it was our old school route we would take in the morning.

"Are we going to school?"

"Yeah, I figured it would be the place you and I could talk without someone interrupting us." Joe said looking over at me. "So what did you want to talk about?"

"How Jess thinks about me."

He slowed the vehicle down to a stop at a stop light. "What about Jess? She's been giving you your space hasn't she?"

"That's the thing, I thought back in the day we were friends. But Jon likes to open his mouth a lot and he says she's jealous of me because she knows we were having issues with our feelings back when we were teenagers."

"Yeah, so? That was then, this is twelve years later." He said as the light turned green.

"That's what I'm saying. Apparently she doesn't like the fact that I'm back. I have a small feeling that Vanessa hates that as well."

Joe pushed some of his loose black hair behind his shoulder. "I pined for you, Annie."

"So did I, for a while at least." I admitted.

"The only reason why I started dating Jess in the first place was so that I could kind of forget about you." He looked back at me, his gray eyes hidden behind heavy brows.

I looked at him briefly and nodded. "Yeah, that was the same thing for me, Sketch was the only person that stuck around since my childhood. He was the one that stuck with me. He was the one I fell in love with."

"Same with Jess and me."

"So, how do you feel about me?" He turned onto a different street. "You're like my sister to me, Annie."

"Then we are in same boat. But apparently Jess and Jon don't think like that."

"Do you want me to talk to Jess?"

"I would like to tell her all of this myself. I don't want anything to be said that wasn't said, or not say something that needs to be said. She needs to hear this from me."

"Is there anything else you want to talk about?" "Why does everyone think that Jon and I have something in common? I think that is the sole reason why he hates me."

"He doesn't hate you." "You haven't heard him talk to me." I grumbled crossing my arms.

"Well, he's gone through a bad breakup."

"And that is supposed to be my fault? I have done nothing but at least try to be civil with him. He wants me to feel bad about myself and I don't know why. Has he been talking to Jess? Or better yet, has he spoken to Vanessa."

"That's a subject I wish I didn't talk about." Joe grumbled.

"Why?"

"During our training days in FCW and NXT, he and my sister used to date. She cheated on him with Brandon Kellett." That was a piece of news that I didn't expect to hear. Joe must have seen my face because he continued. "My mother adores him for whatever reason, he is the friend that is always nice to her. Ms. Patricia, the same name you used to call her."

"So what, that's enough for Jon and I to be friends. If he is going to be a friend then he needs be more respectful of me. But I want to get the issues with Jess and me out of the way first."

"Do you think he hates me because of the things Vanessa told him?"

"Hell if I know. Life went back to normal after you left, but she still didn't like you."

I looked at him but I didn't say anything.

The both of us went on with our time, stopping at the old high school that I attended. Then we headed back to the house to end out the day.

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><p><strong>So what do you guys think? I chose this direction to go because it seemed like a good way to go. Another Update will be up for you guys some time in the next day or two. And thank you for all your reviews, I enjoy reading them.<strong>


	7. Chapter 6: Get to the Bottom of It

**For your enjoyment, here's Chapter Six!**

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><p><strong>Get to the Bottom of it<strong>

Colby and Jon were out back with Sika, talking wrestling apparently. Jess kept looking out there as I stood in the kitchen. Ms. Patricia, Patricia now to me, was with Tera upstairs doing something. Joe had asked Jess to come over to discuss the issues that was going on. He was sitting at the table and I was peeling potatoes. There was a ham cooking out back and the concensus was mashed potatoes. I offered to make the mashed potatoes. But Jess looked like she didn't want to be there at all.

"Why are you two ganging up on me?" She asked.

"Gang up on you? Sorry Jess, the only reason why you're here is to have dinner." I said. "And so that I can get something off of my chest in regards to this little family."

The look she had on her was something along the lines of morbid and seething. I had seen it before, in a picture Sketch had drawn up for a scene in my book. That was one of them that had been exed out of the final draft. Still I was a writer and I could pick up some things that others wouldn't.

"What could you possible want to tell me?" She asked.

"That your fiance and I are nothing more than brother and sister at this moment. Did you know that Patricia and Sika were going to adopt me?"

The lines around her forehead and her mouth softened.

"As far as they are concerned, this baby is their grand child." I motioned to my stomach. "I just have a stronger bond with Joe and Myritza, Vanessa is a different story. Summer, she was coming around when I was shipped off to be with my birth mother, the one that has been one of America's Most Wanted now."

She looked away from me when I looked at her. Joe sat with his arms folded over his chest.

"So please, go over there, kiss him, say I love you and then get over here and help me with these potatoes. And Joe I swear if Jon comes in here I'm chucking the biggest and the wettest potato in this batch at his head." I said.

Joe busted out laughing. "Fine, fine." He stood up and walked up to Jess. He wrapped her in a hug and kissed her. "Now you know, Babe. No one will ever replace you." He kissed her again and then headed for the doorway. "And do as she says. Remember when you were pregnant with Tera."

"Oh God." She mumbled. "I was a holy terror to him. Hormonal issues."

I smiled. "I wouldn't know, yet. But it seems like Jon Good likes to ride my last nerve. He says things just to hurt me it seems like." I said as Joe left the room, going to look for Tera and Patricia.

Jess picked up the other potato peeler and I watched from the corner of my eye as she ran a dry potato under the water before she started peeling it.

"What happened, when I left?" I found myself asking.

"What do you mean?"

"I have this impression that the moment I left things were different. I've tried to talk about it with Patricia over the phone but she would side step the answer that I was expecting to hear."

"That Joe and I delved into a relationship and that Vanessa was sort of the black sheep because she hated you?"

"Yep that was what I was expecting. I mean, I got over my feelings for Joe when Sketch showed up on my doorstep, the only person from my past that was a sweetheart to me. And then I got wrapped up in writing, in becoming an author and then bang, now Sketch is gone and I have a family that I missed for twelve long years."

"That's life for you."

By the time dinner was ready, we were all outside out back on the patio. I made sure that Colby was sitting between Jon and me. Tera sat between me and Joe as he and Jess sat together.

"So, Princess," Jon started to say. "What would you say that your favorite memory was with Sketch?"

Considering the jackass didn't get out of the Tahoe to see the grave, I gave him a sour face the best that I could around Colby's head.

"A lot of the love we had for each other came around the Christmas holidays. We would do things we started twelve years ago."

"Like what?" Tera asked.

"Like, because I was a foster child I never had good enough presents for Christmas. Actually the best thing we would do together is give toys to the local foster kids. And then him and I would give each other home made gifts on Christmas morning."

"Why do you give foster kids toys?" Tera asked.

"Do you know what it means to be a foster kid, kiddo?" I asked, looking at her.

She shrugged. But it wasn't me that answered. "It means they are children who don't have mommies and daddies. Some times the mommies and daddies do bad things which is unsafe for the children to stay with them."

I could not believe he would answer with such emotion. For a moment I wondered why he even bothered to answer that question.

"Yes. And I was a foster child. I didn't have a mother for a while. I was shipped to places often. Some places didn't have enough money to give me proper presents." I swirled my mashed potatoes over the ham on my plate. "I hardly had much in the way of cloths. And not all the foster families were nice. Some times the foster parents would give their own children better gifts and give me stuff that I wouldn't even use. Used cloths were the worse."

"So that's why you and Uncle Sketch went out and gave presents to the foster kids?" She smiled at me. "Daddy, can I do that this year?"  
>"We'll see, sweetie, But that would be a good idea."<p>

"Yes!" She turned and smiled at me before she dove into eating the mashed potatoes.

* * *

><p>I couldn't sleep. Jess and Joe had taken Tera home. But not wanting put Jon and Colby up in a hotel, Patricia insisted that they stay in the spare rooms. Maybe it was Colby snoring that kept me awake, he was sleeping in Summer's and Vanessa's old room, which was not that far from my own room.<p>

I was sitting up, thinking. Day dreaming the other part and wanting to do something. It seemed like the only time that I did anything was at night. Or when something major happened, like getting a phone call in the middle of the night, late night visitors or whatever. And night seemed to be the time when I could write anything.

So I padded over to my old desk and put my laptop on it. This was my writing laptop, this was where I would sit and write my Perry Miser books, scripts, rough drafts of short stories. There were some papers that came with it and I would sit in front of it with a pen or a pencil hanging out of my mouth. Sit on my bed, sit at the couch, just emmersed into my stuff. This was the life of a writer. A children's writer.

Yes, Perry Miser became famous. He was a good stepping stone. Look what happened with JK Rowling and her Harry Potter series. It grew into a fandom. Mine was more for little kids, kids like Tera. Beginning readers. Maybe, with just a little wish…maybe I will turn the page on my life.

I had to get over Sketch first.

But how do I get over a traumatic death of the man that I loved? Just thinking about it brought more tears.

"Annie." I looked up, wishing I had closed the door but instead I kept it open. I always did just in case Sketch came in from drawing.

Colby stood in just a pair of pajama pants. I knew the guy was well toned, I had seen his arms, but ripped. Nope. His hair was falling down around his shoulders as he stood against the doorjam.

"Sorry, I didn't meant to wake you." I said.

He waved at me. "No not you, I had to take a leak. I came to ask if everything was okay."

"No, just that I have issues with myself. Ever since that night, I haven't written anything." I said, pointing to my laptop.

He tilted his head. "Really? Can I come in?" I shrugged. "I guess. It's not like I'm going to go to sleep any time soon."

Colby pulled the chair from Myritza's old desk and put it next to mine. "So, what do you want to write?"

I, again, shrugged in response. "I don't know really. I just have this feeling like I need to write something. I'm back in the house that inspired me to write Perry Miser in the first place. Now I'm stuck."

The wrestler smiled to himself before turning the laptop towards him. He pulled up a new word document, a publishing document program that I always used for first drafts that I did. And then he started writing something. I didn't look because it wasn't something that I was sure I was going to do.

"Here, read this." He instructed turning it back to me.

So I did.

**_"One winter morning, a girl looked out the window hoping to see the first signs of winter. But again the fairies didn't answer the star wish she said the night before_**." I said out loud and then looked at him. "Cute. Where did that come from? Fairies?"

"What, Joe told me that you wanted to know what falling in love with werewolves would be like. I figured fairies would be a little bit easier for you to write."

I laughed, nudging him with my shoulder. "You are a weirdo. But, how about this." I put my hands on the keys and started writing a passage.

**_Emerson Taylor watched as her daughter Rebecca came back into the kitchen. "Still no snow?" She asked stirring the pot of oatmeal that was on the stove._**

**_"No. When is daddy coming home?" Becca asked as she sat at the table. "He said he would be here when the fairies grant my wish."_**

**_Emerson looked down and continued to stir the oatmeal._**

**_"Mom?" She asked._**

**_"Sweetie, Daddy says a lot of things that he doesn't mean."_**

**_"But it's almost Christmas. He promised that he will be here for Christmas, before if the fairies…"_**

**_"Becca, please." Emerson begged her daughter. "Not today. I have a lot of work to do and I can't risk messing up right now. So please, please, sweetie, go get ready for school."_**

Colby smiled when he finished reading that little passage. "Sounds like this could be something from the Halmark Channel during the Christmas Season. Who knows, maybe it will be."

I smiled. "Yeah, that will be the day. When a story of mine gets turned into a movie."

"Don't doubt yourself, Annie." Colby reached over and put his hand on my knee. "Everything takes time. Now, give this little bit a title and go to bed." He stood up and put the chair back from where he had taken in from. Giving me a friendly look, Colby left.

That's when I turned back to the open document up on my laptop screen. As I hit File Save the Name this Document page came up. How long did I sit there and stare at the screen.

Finally three words popped up that could sum up a Christmas movie from the Hallmnark Channel, at least something to work with for now.

**_The Christmas Fairy_**

* * *

><p>As the day came, I was yet up late. And when I went out of the bedroom to go to the bathroom, I ran straight into someone. Someone tall, someone with big strong hands.<p>

How I wished it was Colby but no it wasn't.

It had to be Jon Good.

"Where's the fire, Princess?" He asked giving me that lopsided grin that I hated so much.

It wasn't really the smile, it was the tone he used with it. He was poking fun at me, he was jabbing at me and it was really annoying. I put up with bullying back in high school. I didn't need someone like Jon Good to remind me of how worthless I could feel at times.

"You're up like fire on your heels." He said.

"I need the bathroom, or I'll be peeing on your foot." I said.

And that crooked, lopsided grin just got bigger.

Groaning I pulled myself out of his grasp and walked around him so that I could get to the bathroom. Then I snapped it shut behind me in anger. Why? He didn't do anything except speak with a civilized manner towards me. At least that was a step forward with him.

When I had gotten out of the bathroom and had gotten downstairs fully dressed, Joe and Jess were there with Tera.

"Auntie Nella!" She smiled big and then went and hugged me. "Daddy got called back on the road."

"Oh?" I asked kneeling down to look at her. "You mean he has to go back to being Roman Reigns?"

"Yeah." She pouted. "Him, Jon and Colby have to go back together so that they can split them up."

I had no real clue as to what she was talking about. I remember that Joe, Jon and Colby were in a group called The Shield. That there was some sort of major event show, a pay-per-view that was coming up that they needed to be in.

Tera still didn't look happy. "Are you going with them?"

"I uh, I will have to go back to Oakland to my life over there." Took her hand and took her towards the front room couch. "Listen Kiddo, there are things adults do that kids like you don't understand."

"Like work?"

"Yeah, work is a major thing. I have to work on another Perry Miser book. And that way, I can get things started so that I can move here."

"You're moving here?"

"Dwayne suggested it. But you have to understand, my life I had, the life with Uncle Sketch, that's what I want to hold on to. But how can I be with a mother that is more of a mother than my own blood mother and still live all the way over in California."

"What does that mean?" She asked.

I smiled. "It means, if Florida is where my family is then it's going to be where I live. I'll be close to grandma, grandpa, you, cousins, family here in Florida."

"Really?" She cheered up.

"But it means I have to go back to California to do what I need, I need to sell my apartment, I need to find a place here. I need to deal with a lot of grown up things, a lot of it I don't even understand first before I can finally move out here. It may take me until at least Thanksgiving. But you have to promise me something."

"What?"

From my pocket I pulled out a notepad and a pen. Then I wrote my cell phone number down.

"This is my phone number. If I don't pick up, you need to leave me a message so that I can call you back, okay?" I asked handing her the paper.

"Uh huh."

"This means, you can call me when you want. If you're sad, or mad or anything like that, you can call me."

"Really?" She sounded shocked.

"Yes, Kiddo. You can." I smiled at her. "Now, go. Have the best time with your Daddy while you can."

Just beyond the group of wrestlers I saw one mother, her hand over her mouth, smiling through the tears. When Patricia and I made eye contact she smiled at me. I could see that Joe was happy as well, Jess nodded in thanks and Colby looked rather pleased with me.

And Jon, he was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

><p><strong>Well there you go, another update. I hope you liked it. Tell me what you think. I'll get the next update soon for you guys. Until then, see ya.<strong>


	8. Chapter 7: Surprises Galore

**Here's Chapter Seven. Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>S<strong>**urprises Galore**

**Oct. 31st, 2014**

I was getting into being three and a half months pregnant and with the kids coming in for trick or treating, I had a full night for myself.

Between answering the door for trick or treaters, I sat with my laptop in the front room working on a Thanksgiving Perry Miser book. In this one, he brings a homeless man to the Miser family table, because it was about giving thanks and giving back to people. At least that's what I was aiming for. The story was in it's rewrite mode and I was preparing to turn it in to my publishers.

There was a knock at my door, which resulted in me getting up, not even noticing that it was nearly ten o'clock at night. I wasn't expecting to see who it was at my door.

Three men stood there, all wearing a mask that looked like a skeleton over their mouths. I gasped, dropping my bowl of candy and stumbling backwards. Before I actually hit the floor, one of the men with the skeleton mouth masks grabbed my hand preventing me from hitting the floor.

"Annie!" I heard Joe said as he removed his mask.

"Joe?" I asked as I found myself standing up on my own two feet, thanks to him.

And then I grew pissed off in about a second. I had never punched or slapped Joe at all in my life. But for some reason that's what happened. I slapped him as hard as I could, right across the face. He barely budged, which left a sting in my hand as I pulled my free hand from his grip.

"Don't you ever do that shit to me again!" I yelled as Jon and Colby removed their masks. "None of you will ever do that to me again, can I make myself any clearer to you?" I asked.

"Sorry, Ann." Colby said.

But I turned around and stalked off towards the kitchen area. I passed that and went to the master bedroom, slamming the door shut behind me.

What had happened was an accident, what resulted was an accident from me. I had to go change my pants. When I came back out, Colby was picking up the spilled candy from the front door, Jon was rooting through my fridge like he owned the place and Joe was smack dab in the middle of my front room. Of all things, he was looking at a Thanksgiving picture of Sketch, Grandma and me together. Sarah was never present in any of my pictures.

"Hey, Ann." Colby said as he picked up the last of the candy. "Sorry, it was sort of Jon's idea to try to scare you."

"Don't you know not to scare a pregnant woman? Her hormones run wild." I said. "I thought Joe would realize that at least, he's the only one of you guys that has a kid." And I looked at Joe, hurt etched on my face the best that I could. "I'm really sorry about that, Joe."

And he smiled, putting the picture he was holding down. "I've had worse when it comes to what I do at work. Safe to say it backfired on us, huh?"

"Something like that, I would have been laughing but, I guess being pregnant changes things up a little bit."

From inside the kitchen I hear, "Hey, where's the beer?"

I passed him in the kitchen? I turned to look at him. How did I not see him with his head in my fridge? I guess I wanted to apologize to Joe more than I realized someone was rooting around in my refrigerator.

"I don't carry beer, Jon Good." I remarked, feeling the light and airy bubble of happiness pop. "Sketch and I never drank. It's the reason why his dad died, and it's the reason for so many childhood nightmares." I shook my head and then turned to Colby as he put the candy bowl down on my coffee table. "What are you guys doing here? I thought you had some sort of Smack Down show."

"That's filmed on Tuesdays. We had separate interviews because of Shield being broken up." Colby said. "But we thought it would be a cool thing to come see you before we headed out."

It took me a minute to process what was going on. The Shield, the group Joe, Jon and Colby were apart of had been pulled apart. I had seen bits and pieces of the shows but I still didn't understand the many storyline plots that were woven within them. Something about Authority, Colby had defected over to them and Jon, playing as Dean Ambrose, was gunning for him. Joe, as Roman Reigns, was sort of hovering somewhere in between the two of them. His plot I never did follow. Jon and Colby I could understand, at least for the most part. But Roman Reigns was still a mystery to me.

I heard my fridge get closed. "You're not a fun lady to be around, you know." Jon said.

"And you are a jackass. It seems to be that we think the same of each other." I said.

"Will you two ever get along?" Joe asked us.

Not in any mood to talk about Jon, I pressed my hand to my slightly extended stomach and went to go sit down on my comfy chair where my laptop was.

"What are you two doing here? I'm counting you, Joe and Colby, Jon doesn't count. He seems to like the ride he gets around here." I said putting my feet up on the ottoman.

"We were in the area." Colby said sitting across from me. "But Joe was the one that wanted to ask you something."

"What?"

"Well, how far are you with moving to Florida?"

"Uh, I don't know. The publishing company is supportive of me moving. The Detectives on the case are no where near finding that woman and I still haven't found a proper home."

Colby spoke up. "I'm sure Patricia and Sika wouldn't mind letting you live with them until you find a place. I'm sure they would love to have you there."

"Honestly, after everything that happened tonight I don't want to think about it. I've just realized how tired I am. Unfortunately I only have one other room besides the main bedroom. You guys figure it out on your own, I'm going to go to bed. I'll discuss this in the morning."

I left them to do whatever it was they were doing.

* * *

><p>How was it that I could sleep with three men in my house?<p>

There was the second bedroom that Colby declared was his. With two couches in the front room, Joe and Jon had opted to sleep in there. Well sort of.

In the middle of the night I felt someone pull the covers back, I figured and I didn't know why but I had thought it was Joe. I was sleeping on my side, facing out the window where the Bay could be seen. But when I woke up I didn't believe my eyes.

Laying on his stomach, hugging Sketch's pillow under his head, was Jon Good. Him and I were face to face, and it wasn't a good thing to wake up to, especially when he was awake and smiling at me.

"What the hell!" I jerked back so hard I started falling again, this time right off my bed but I managed to stand up again, keeping the bed between him and me. "What the hell! What in the freaking hell are you doing in my bed!"

"Chill out, Little Orphan Annie." He said pushing himself up onto his elbows.

He had to be shirtless. Upon closer inspection Jon was only wearing boxers, and as he pushed the bedding back, they were as unsettled as his hair, pushing further up his legs.

"God, you're so pathetic." I said moving around the side of the bed so that I could get out of there.

I felt sick. Though morning sickness was on or off for the most part, it had been light throughout my pregnancy at that point. But if something was bothering me that is when it started to flare up. I closed myself in the bathroom to get some privacy. I was too busy puking my guts out when I heard the door open. A quick glance over I saw that it was Joe, a cup of water in his hand.

"Hey, what happened?" He asked after I had calmed down.

"He was in my room."

"Who?"

"Jon." I flushed the toilet and then dropped the lid down. "He slept with me in the same bed that Sketch and I shared. What man does that?" I asked before taking a long drink of water. "He made me sick."

"Thanks, Sunshine." Jon said from the door. When I looked at him, he zipped his fly up. He still had no shirt on. "You're a golly good thing to wake up to also. By the way, did you know that you snore?" Two things happened. Jon got a cup to the side of the head, and luckily it was plastic otherwise there would have been glass over the kitchen floor. The second thing that happened was Colby coming out of nowhere and grabbing Jon by the back of his neck and shoving him away from the door.

I broke down crying. I hadn't had this much heartache since I was sixteen, well that wasn't so true. The night Sketch was killed was the night my heart shattered.

"That's Sketch's side of the bed. No one is supposed to be there." I bawled out. After crying it out and once I had composed myself, I continued. "Why does he have to ruin everything for me?"

Joe sat back on his heels, looking up at me as I sat on the toilet.

"Do you want that whenever I come around, to not have him there with me?"

I nodded. "Yes, that's exactly what I want."

"Then you have my promise. If you promise to think about moving back to Florida."

"Okay."

Promises are fickle things. Sometimes promises get blown up and turn into disaster.

* * *

><p>Once I had calmed down, I was able to think. I came out of my bedroom only to find Joe was in the front room, reclining back in the recliner chair, Colby was doing something in the kitchen and Jon, where did he go? After my mini-melt down, he had gone away.<p>

Nope, he came back in the apartment with a plastic bag in his hands.

"Got the eggs you wanted, Colby. Mind telling me what I had to spend my damn money on." He said.

"I'm making Annie lunch." Colby answered from the counter that I could see through into the kitchen. "And thanks for getting it. Have you cooled down?" Colby asked Jon.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, ha, ha , ha." He tilted his head with every word he said. "I'm not your damn slave. Seems like you can drop everything for Princess here."

I looked away from him. He may have looked gorgeous, did I just say gorgeous in my head? Prince Charming with a bad attitude. Colby insisted that I bring out my story, The Christmas Fairy, just to have something to do. Joe was watching a football game, and in a recliner that Sketch hadn't liked all too much. Now it was hard for me to think. I had a few good ideas flowing but when Jon came through the door after his shopping trip, he ruined it all.

"What are you going to do for Thanksgiving?" Joe asked.

"Who, me or Princess?" Jon asked after dumping off the food in the kitchen.

Joe stood up from the recliner. He walked into the kitchen and looked at the counter. "You bought a can of beer?" I scowled at my laptop screen. Beer, in the house? What did I tell him? Oh yeah, I let a breath through my nose, Sketch and I didn't drink. That didn't mean he couldn't. Maybe if he got tipsy then he would be a better person. But then again, I never was around the guy when he was drunk. Jon could have been an even worse douche bag when he drank.

"Anyway I was talking to you, Jon." Joe said. "What are you doing for Thanksgiving?"

"Nothing that I can care to think of. Bunch of the guys from my hometown are getting together. Drinking, getting drunk, picking up chicks, that sort of thing." He looked at me when he said that before taking a drag off the beer.

Jackass, I thought turning back to my laptop.

"Well, last I talked to her, she offered you a place at the table for Thanksgiving." Joe then continued. "You'd have to put up with Annie,"

"Hey!" I yelled from my spot.

And that was when I heard my phone start ringing. I picked it up and answered.

"Hello? Hey, Patricia." I smiled as I put my laptop to the side of me. "Look, can I ask you something? I don't know if you'll say yes but Joe mentioned something that I want to pass by you first."

I bypassed Jon as I headed towards the main bedroom.

Moments later, I had returned. "Joe," I stated.

"Yeah," he looked at me from his spot in the kitchen.

"Patricia said that it was okay for me to move in with them until I find a place."

Now that was a surprise I had hoped for.

* * *

><p><strong>Well there you have it. What do you guys think? I have a feeling this is not the path that people wanted but it's the path that works best for me. <strong>


	9. Chapter 8: Coming Home Again

**Finally, another update for this one. I hope you enjoy Chapter 8, everyone.**

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><p><strong>Coming Home Again<strong>

**November 5th, 2014**

There was one little issue with me moving, the case. The case of Sarah Grange, the storybook killer. Yeah, she killed her daughter's fiance.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Detective Mo Appleton asked me as I sat with the lead detective in my case.

I nodded. "Yeah. I mean, this place holds so many memories but I'm alone. At least I'll be living with people in Florida for a while until I can find my own place. But what would happen here. It's been months since his murder, have you found anything?"

Mo shook her head. "No, nothing. It's like she fell off the grid. I've been checking area morgues just in case an over dose victim has come in fitting her description. But nothing. We're still working but other cases have come up."  
>"Okay. But would I have to live here?"<p>

"No, the murder happened here in Oakland. If and when we find Sarah and send her to trial then all you would have to do is come back here and be present for it. I understand you want to move one with your life. I applause you for that. So do what you need to do to keep you and the baby safe." She said.

So I had the confirmation for what I needed to do.

**November 9th, 2014**

"What do you want with this one?" Solofa asked holding up a statue that was in the front room.

I was in the kitchen with Tally, or Solofa's wife, and we were packing up the dishes in the kitchen.

I had recently learned, back at the funeral actually, was that Solofa and Tally lived back in Florida, had moved back there recently to be closer to family in Florida. The Twins lived in Florida now, too. It seemed like a lot of the family was moving back to Florida, in various towns and what not. But they were slowly starting to get together.

Thinking about the statue, I shrugged. "You know what, donate." I said looking at it. "It was something he thought was cool but I didn't care for it. Does that sound stupid?"

"No. People age, people have different styles." Tally touched my back. "It's not getting rid of Sketch, you'll always have the memories."  
>She was right. She was absolutely right. It wasn't about the stuff, it was the memories. And I was moving into a smaller space than my own home. I hadn't found a place in Pensacola yet. Between trying to get my publishers to agree that this was a good thing and actually being able to look at properties, I was just not in the mood for little else. Hence why I was now going through my house and packing things that would be put into storage in Florida until I could find a place. This was just so tiring.<p>

"You know, Jon Good," Tally said making me look at her. "He's a good man."

"Uh huh, no," I held my hands up. "He hates me. Apparently everyone keeps telling him that he and I have so much in common but I just lost the love of my life. I am not going to jump into the arms of another man."

"I know. Patricia talks about it. I don't understand why you both can't be just friends?"  
>"Why? Because he's too dark. He's got this attitude about him that just rubs me the wrong way. It reminds me of that guy from school Brandon Kellett."<p>

"I don't care for that kid." Solofa said, shaking his head as he put the statue in the donation box.

"Neither do I." Tally said. "What did you see in him?"

"Nothing actually. Sure he was really, and I mean really, handsome but he just knew how to push my buttons. When I went to school, he started bragging about how good he would have things. I mentioned how little I would get and he would brag about getting a car for Christmas."

"Stupid." Solofa mumbled.

"Tell me about it." I agreed with him. "But apparently Vanessa wanted him but he was hung up on dating the famous teenager that had been in the Miami Sun for winning some big name short story contest. He just wanted to brag about that to everyone. And nearly the entire cheer squad wanted him."

"Even Myritza?"  
>"That's why I said nearly. She didn't take to him not like the rest of the girls on the squad."<p>

"Boy, that kid really sounds like a piece of work."

I enjoyed my time with Solofa and Tally. They stayed over that night so that they could help me further on into the next day. They helped me pack up most of my stuff. There was already a buyer for my apartment and that meant I had to be out within a week. I was almost done packing everything at this point. The new owner was specifically given my place because she needed a home for her and her kids. The apartment was still within their school district and it was in a nice neighborhood.

Yes, I even filled them in on what had happened and the woman was willing to take it.

"It was nice of you to accept the woman's offer." Tally said as Solofa loaded a bunch of boxes into my rental car.

"It's the time of year when people do for others." I responded as I put my carry on bags in the backseat.

The apartment wasn't the only thing that I sold. I had to sell Sketch's beloved Jeep. I loved it as much as he did but with a baby coming it was not an infant friendly car. I would find another car in Florida when I get there. The Jeep itself had plenty of pictures of Sketch and I together in it. Grandma had taken pictures of Sketch teaching me how to drive in that jacked up jeep.

This was my final day in Oakland. We would drop off my boxes at the post office so that way they could be sent to Florida and I would carry the cloths that I would take with me on the plane. Solofa and Tally were going to be my travel buddies.

It was late evening at the airport when I get a phone call. We were waiting in line at the area where the plane was coming in when I felt my phone vibrate.

It was Joe's number that flashed on my phone but when I answered it I was a little scared.

"Annie." It was Jess's voice that I caught. And she didn't sound happy. "Annie, something happened to Joe."  
>Just nearly my heart stopped. "What? What happened to Joe?" Now Solofa and Tally were looking at me. There were a few people in the Anoa'i family that were named Joe or Joseph, so it could mean anyone. But when it was dealing with me there was only one Joe that meant business.<p>

"It was a match related injury. Something about a ruptured ulcer or something like that."

I bit my lower lip. "I'm in the airport right now with Tally and Solofa. I'll be in Florida early tomorrow morning." I said. "How is Tera taking it?"

"She only knows that Daddy's sick. That he had to go to the hospital. He's going in for surgery tomorrow. I don't know if you'll be here when he gets out but I know that Patricia will do everything in her power to get you to see him."  
>"Thanks, Jess, for the heads up. I'll let Tally and Solofa know what's going on. I'll try to be there tomorrow, but I'm not sure what time."<br>"I understand." She said, but I heard someone in the background, sounded like Sika telling her something. "Sorry, visiting hours are over. Sika and Patricia are leaving. They'll be taking Tera for me while I stay with Joe."  
>"Okay. And Jess,"<p>

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for keeping me in the loop."

"No problem, Annie. Joe wanted you to know and I offered to do it for him. He wanted to but right now he's sleeping off the pain meds."

"All right." Now it was my turn to get noted from the voice above. "My flight is being called. I have to go. Kiss Joe for me, as stupid as that sounds."  
>"Not stupid at all." But it didn't register to me that she had dropped her tone because I had hung up shortly after that.<p>

I ended up telling them the news about Joe as we were getting on the plane.

* * *

><p>"Why are you smiling, Tally?" I asked the older woman.<p>

She looked at her phone. "You giving that reading on the plane to a little girl that was scared of flying. It was the sweetest thing you could do." The next Perry Miser book was in pre-release, I had the first copy of it. And there was a little kid on the plane that was scared. That flight was the first plane ride he'd ever been on. So what happened next was something of an awe moment.

I had a reading with a little kid, with all the books that I brought of Perry Miser.

"You'll be a good mother when the tyke gets here." Solofa added, reaching over and putting a hand on my stomach.

Tally shooed his hand away. "No touching without asking, Solofa. I swear men try to feel up women whenever they get a chance." I was nearly five months pregnant, and the baby was getting bigger it seemed by the day.

"Someone is supposed to come pick us up." Solofa said. "Sika said that Patricia and him will be at the hospital with Joe and Tera and Jess. He didn't say who though but they are taking Joe's Tahoe."

I had a pull along suitcase and my laptop case over my shoulder. We got outside of the airport and waited at the pick up area. The black Tahoe wasn't hard to miss, but the man that stepped out of it was still the annoying guy that I still thought was a jackass.

"Well, Hi there, Princess." He smiled at me as he walked up.

"You?" I stupidly asked.

"Yeah, me. Surprised?" He asked.

I scowled at him before trying to walk around him so that I could put my things in the Tahoe. He reached out and grabbed my arm slightly.

"Uh huh, no you don't, Princess. I'm here to do that for you." "I can do it on my own." I retaliated.

"Kind of hard, Sunshine." I narrowed my eyes at him. "Joe asked me to do it. And since he's in no position to do it for you then you have to deal with my kindness." I gripped the handle of my suitcase and didn't budge of the issue. I didn't need him doing anything nice for me just because someone else asked him. I wanted him to do nice things because he wanted to. There was a difference in that.

"Princess."

"Annie." I corrected.

"Princess Annie, geez you like to go through so many names." He rolled his eyes at me. "Give me the suitcase, please." He said that with gritted teeth.

"No."

Solofa and Tally were loading their things up in the Tahoe while Jon and I debated who was going to carry my suitcase.

Finally Jon had to physically take my hand off the handle and picked it up one handed "Listen, Princess, one of these days you'll know better than to get on my bad side."

"I wasn't on your good side to begin with, jerk face."

"Oh, so now you are calling me names?" He wiggled his fingers in the air. "For once in your life get over yourself."

"What are you talking about?" I followed him to the back end of the Tahoe. "What gives you that idea."

"Ooh, look at me, I'm a children's published author." He said in the most sarcastic way possible. "My mommy killed my boyfriend. Look at me, I'm pregnant. It always has to be about you, huh?"

I stood with one hand on my hip. "What gives you that idea. I'm trying to live a life. I'm no better than you are, famous superstar wrestler."

He smiled. "At least I know how to live life to the fullest."

"At least I know what I want out of love. You just think women are only good in a bedroom." I countered.

"As they should be." He called out as I walked around to the side of the SUV. "Maybe then they would get out of my way."

"You need to learn some manners, Jonathan Good. You're no better than me as I am no better than you. I don't know what your issue is with me but I can assure you that I didn't start it. That was your great endeavor." "You know what, if you weren't so tight with this family I would leave your ass here and make you take public transit."

"And you're so uptight your backside won't let your head in."

And there goes my pathetic attempt at telling him to get his head out of his ass.

It must have been a very awkward ride for Tally and Solofa, but as long as I didn't sit up front of Jon the better.

* * *

><p><strong>I hope you enjoyed this section. I am going to try to update tomorrow but I'm having some family stuff going on so it might be later in the day.<strong>


	10. Chapter 9: Hospitals and Awkward Kisses

**Here's the next update like I promised you guys. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><strong><strong>Hospitals and Awkward Kisses<strong>**

I was still pissed off at Jon. I was still pissed off with him when we got to the hospital. Solofa and Tally decided to chaperon Jon and I when he took us to the hospital.

It was early morning in Florida, Joe was in surgery when we got to the hospital straight from the airport.

"Annie." Patricia said once seeing me.

They were in the surgical waiting room, waiting to hear anything on Joe's surgery. Patricia looked tired like she hadn't been sleeping well. Me, I had hardly slept myself so I probably looked as tired as she did.

With it being in November, there was a boom box at the reception area that was playing Christmas music. Man that was strange to hear at this time of year. Oh no, wait, it wasn't.

"Hi, how are you holding up?"

"I am doing okay, the best that I can for Tera." She stepped to the side and showed the little girl sleeping. "We thought it would be best to keep her out of school today."

Jess had laid Tera down in a couch at the corner of the room. She wore a pink shirt under blue overalls. Her hair was up in two pigtails and she had a gift shop teddy bear tucked under her chin. Jess looked like she hardly slept at all. No one in their looked all that happy.

"Did you just get in?" Patricia asked.

"Jon drove here straight from the airport." Solofa said. "We'll call a taxi to take us the rest of the way home."

"How was your flight?" Sika asked joining in on hugging me.

I felt good to be there with them. Now that I was back home at least.

"It was okay. I'm sure youtube has me on there doing a personal reading of my book to a little boy that didn't like flying." I answered.

"Oh, you're going to be the best mom in the world." Patricia cooed.

I smiled, and then looked at the very tired fiance of Joe's. It was hard to believe that she and I didn't really see eye to eye, especially when people started thinking up the past. Everyone either thought that I was going to be Joe's sister or that we would make the long distance relationship work. I could see how she didn't care for me at first. But now since Joe was like the brother I never had, and his family the family I sort of wished I had, it was coming to terms with knowing that I fell in love with Sketch and she found herself falling in love with Joe. I just hoped she could understand that part.

"Jess?" I said sitting down next to her. "How are you?"

"Tired, but otherwise I'm good." She said, forcing a smile in my general direction.

"You're bleary eyed. I can always stay here with Joe so that you can go home to sleep."

"You look as tired as I do." She responded quickly.

"Oh I am. I was just trying to be nice."

"Well, don't, I can handle this on my own." She snapped at me.

I sighed. "I'm trying to help."

"Look, I just want to worry about Joe. I don't want you…"

"I thought we had this conversation before." I said leaning back in the chair and crossing my arms over my chest. "I thought we got that part over."

"You did, you did all the talking. But…I still sort of feel like you have some sort of thing for him."

"I lost the love of my life, Jess. I am not ready…"

"You're not ready to fall in love again, but now Joe is hurt and you're knocked up…" She paused and shook her head. "You don't know what it's like living with the fact that I was the second option."

"You don't know what it was like living with a drug addicted mother. The only reason why I stayed there at all was because of my grandmother." I interjected. "I stayed in the hell because Sketch was there. You have Joe. I don't want him. I want Sketch back. But Joe will come back full of piss and vinegar while the love of my life is buried six feet under." I hissed through my teeth because I didn't want Tera waking up.

I stood up and headed for the elevators.

Jon watched me go. I didn't care if he watched me leave, as long as he stayed in the surgical waiting room. But as I had thought, he didn't stay there so long.

The elevator doors were closing but his hand shot out and stopped it. As the doors opened Jon walked in and hit the close doors button.

"Can't let you go off on your own, Princess. What was the fight about?"

"Old feelings, old memories. She feels like she was the second option for Joe to date, because I'm assuming it was because she was there and I wasn't."

"I heard that you wanted Sketch back."

"Yes, I want him back." I reached up and pressed the single tear I had away.

"What's this about drug addict?"

"My birth mother. She was a drug addict, I think my biological father was too." I pushed my dark blond hair behind my ear. My hair was growing longer now, it was down to about my collar bone at that point. "She claimed she did drugs while she was pregnant with me."

The reflection of Jon in the elevator doors shown me the look on his face. He learned something that he didn't know.

"No one told you did they?" I asked.

"That mommy was a druggie? No, they failed to tell me about that."

"I guess they want to keep the past in the past. But that was why she came to the apartment, she wanted money, money that Sketch and I weren't going to give her. When Sketch told her to leave she pulled something from her hoodie and it turned out to be a gun."

He didn't say anything for a while. He walked with me, which may seem to be strange at that moment but it felt good. It felt good that he would be there for me and that he may have some sort of emotion for me.

"Sorry." He mumbled.

"Sorry about what? That I lost my beloved man, the father of my baby? That I had a screwed up life."

"Mine wasn't all that different from yours, Sweetheart." He held up a hand when I turned to him to say what was on my mind. "Your mom was a druggie, so was mine. It was a fact that I didn't divulge to a lot of people. Last I heard she was alive and not in a gutter somewhere in Cincinnati with a needle in her arm."

So that was the something we had in common.

"Did you go to foster care?" I asked out of curiosity.

"Yeah, when I was six. For two months. Mom got cleaned for two months, got me back and she just went on, hiding it better that time around." He shoved his hands in his pockets. "I don't like to admit a lot of things."

"Me neither. When she came back, when I was sixteen and with the Anoa'i family, Patricia and Sika were ready to adopt me. Joe found that out, he over heard them. That was one of the major things that got me so mixed up. Joe was the one guy that I had been around that didn't treat me like crap. I started feeling these feelings that were so mixed up."

"Ah, I see. That's Jess's the whole issue with being second in Joe's life."

"Yeah, but Sketch, he became that man I wanted to be with. He was sweet, he thought of other people and not just about himself. I found him on my doorstep and that good part of my childhood came back. I only shared two kisses with Joe, Joe's got a kid with Jess. He asked her to marry him, not me. I already said yes to Sketch. We would have been happy."

And that's when Jon touched me, softly. It was on the back of my arm, making me look at him. The last time we ever touched it was him forcing me to let go of my luggage. This time his hand moved to my lower back. But it didn't last long there.

He pulled his hand back quickly. "And you keep trying to make yourself clear with everyone but it's like they are living in the past. Happens a lot, Princess. They'll move on from the ideas."

The elevators opened up and we stood in the lobby of the hospital. People were going to and from, patients getting discharged were being pushed in wheelchairs. Phones were ringing and the people were all talking. It seemed to drown me out of what was going on in my head.

"What do you think this Christmas will be like?" Jon asked.

"I had a family for Christmas every year since I was sixteen. It was Sketch and Grandma and me after 2002, that's all I needed. And now, Vanessa is AWOL, Summer's pregnant and Myritza isn't even around. She's up in Ohio with Matt, a sibling I never got to know."

"I hear he's thinking of moving back here. Him and Mandy are getting a divorce."

"Mandy the Wife?"

"Yeah. He wants to open a restaurant here in Pensacola."

I sighed. "Everything seems to be changing all of a sudden."

"Life does that."

* * *

><p>Joe was in his room by the time Jon and I got back. I had calmed down and was able to go back to his room when Patricia called.<p>

"Hey," Joe smiled at me when we entered the room. "You two haven't tried to killed each other, have you?"

"No," I glanced at Jon. "He made sure that I didn't go out to and do something that I shouldn't do."

"That's good." He looked at Jon with a pointed look.

"How are you feeling?" I asked stepping up to the bed. "Where's Jess and Terracotta?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Jess said something about taking Tera home. She didn't look too happy."

"Well, she wasn't, not with me at least." I put my hand on my stomach. "She still thinks you and I want to get together. I think. She said something about being the second choice."

"She was the first choice, I just got wrapped up with you for a while." He said then rubbed his head. "Damn, I thought you cleared that up for her."

"I thought so too, but she just didn't seem to want to listen."

Jon looked like the odd man out of the conversation.

"Thanks for keeping an eye on her. Where did you go?" Joe said looking at his friend.

"To the cafeteria to get something to drink. She wanted Cranberry Juice for some reason." Jon said. "And I got a call, I'm up for the next couple of weeks, they are giving me Thanksgiving off. So tomorrow I head out."

"Oh yeah, there's the Pay-per-view coming up the Sunday before Thanksgiving." I said.

"And I'm getting pounded by Bray Wyatt."

Now I felt like the odd one out. But I listened. Or tried to. Wrestling just wasn't that interesting for me.

"Take Annie home, Jon. She looks tired." Joe instructed of his friend.

"She was up most of the flight reading her Perry Miser books to some little kid." Jon filled him in on that fact. "But, yeah, I guess it's time for Princess to get her beauty sleep."

I nodded. I reached over and put my hand in Joe's. "Get better, big guy. I'll see you later."

He squeezed my hand. "You too, Annie."

Jon and I left the hospital in silence. I walked with him to the Tahoe. Solofa and Tally came out to take their things when their taxi came to pick them up. Patricia was still at the hospital but Sika left to take Jess and Tera home, then he was going to go out to find some food.

"Jon," I spoke up as we came to a stop light.

"Hmm," he mumbled, not looking at me.

"Thank you." Then he glanced at me, so I continued talking. "Thank you for listening to me earlier."

"No, problem Princess. So, now that you are finally home, what are you going to do?"

"Sleep, eat and continue writing. I pitched an idea for a novel that Colby and I started back in August. Well he started it and I just started adding to it. I'm almost done, I just have to tweak a few things."

"What is it about?"

"It is a spirit of Christmas kind of story. Something mushy, something along the lines of Angels coming to Earth to help down trodden humans feel the spirit of Christmas all over again. But it's dealing with Fairies."

Jon laughed just a bit. "Interesting twist on it."

"I've been wanting to write a fantasy, instead of just these children's books. I want to broaden my horizons with writing, not focusing on just children's novels. You know."

"I can see that. Moving on to bigger and better things?"

"No, more like starting a new adventure. I will still write Perry Miser books, I'm sure there are more tales out there with him. But I want to write as an adult for the first time."

Jon pulled down the road that would lead to the house. "People assume a lot about someone just by the one thing they do."

I nodded. "The one thing they are famous for. I'm famous for Perry Miser, no one can see me doing anything else when I like so many different genres out there. Although science fiction isn't one of them."

"And I'm the jackass heel that is a face. I usually am the heel in any damn wrestling brand that I am under. Then I get here, I start as a heel and then I get to be a face, it seems weird."

"So it seems strange when you're the good guy?" I asked only knowing a limited amount of wrestling from my early childhood with the Anoa'i family.

"Yeah, especially when," he pulled into the driveway. "Especially when fans come up and say they love me as a heel character."

Jon got out of the SUV and went to the back to get my luggage.

"Patricia gave me an extra key." I told him. "I'll go unlock it for you." I said slipping out with my laptop case in tow.

He didn't say anything, and I stood at the open door waiting for him to come in. I had to admit he did look good in ripped blue jeans, a graphic t-shirt and sneakers. His hair was slick back, though with the humidity, it was starting to puff up a little.

Now that we were being civil, it felt strange. We were talking like adults, we were getting to know each other but there was that wall that hung on the outskirts of it all. I was waiting for that wall to fall down and him treat me like a jerk face idiot that he usually was.

"Are you coming for Thanksgiving?" I asked.

He merely shrugged. "I haven't decided yet. Patricia tries to make me come, so I have for the last couple of years since I met Joe at what was FCW I've always come to their place for Thanksgiving."

"So this family has become sort of family for you as well?"

"Sort of, but not like you are to them."

"I'm still getting used to it myself."

I walked up the stairs, Jon right behind me. When I went to take the last step, my foot hit half of it, and it slipped. I yelped as I felt myself start falling forward. Jon grabbed the back of my shirt to keep me from falling on my stomach.

"Are you okay?" He tossed up the suitcase of cloths so that he could use both hands to help balance me.

My hands were on his chest, his body so close to mine. Jon's hands were pressing into my back to keep me from falling, I guess. This was the longest we had touched, this was the most intimate that I had been with him. He'd always been that jerk face idiot to me, but now, I was mesmerized at the light sky blue eyes he had. Jon's big hands, the way his mouth seemed to be set in a stone straight line.

I opened my mouth to say something when it happened. And it was the moment when it felt so strange.

Jon leaned down and kissed me. I jerked my head back slightly but he followed again, nipping at my lower lip.

And the fluttering feeling I had in my stomach was from the baby, moving around like he or she was happy.

Then it ended as suddenly as it had begun. Even Jon looked shocked as I did.

"Fuck." He grumbled letting me go and then stepped back. "I uh, that was wrong. I need to go, I need to…" he didn't finish it. Jon practically ran down the stairs and out the front door in a blur to me.

Blur because I started crying for no apparent reason. Maybe there was a reason, I just didn't know it yet.

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><p><strong>Well, this is the path that I chose because it was the simplest thing to do. I hope you guys enjoy it. Maybe now Jon and Annie can work things out.<strong>

**So until next time, see you guys later.**


	11. Chapter 10: Boy Or Girl?

**Here's Chapter 10. Enjoy.**

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><p><strong>Boy Or Girl?<strong>

**November 20th, 2014**

"So," Colby said as we were talking over the phone. "Have you found out the sex yet?"

"I'm going in today." I said looking around the bedroom. I had been living with Patricia and Sika for over a week and I still hadn't found a house or an apartment yet. Of course during this time of year, finding anything was hard to do. "I finally found an OBGYN that will take my insurance."

"What are you hoping for?"

"Does healthy count?"

Colby laughed. "Yeah, that would be something, wouldn't it. No, boy or girl smart ass."

"I am an educated posterior aren't I? But I've been thinking about it. If it's a boy, Spencer."

"Junior?"

"No, more like Spencer Joseph Carlson or Grange, I haven't decided yet on what to put on the birth certificate." I answered truthfully.

"What about a girl?"

"I have a feeling it's going to be a boy. But Leslie, Leslie if it's a girl. But I am the mother, I feel it's going to be a boy. Spencer Joseph. If Sandy and Joe can name their daughters after me then I am going to return the favor."

Colby was out on a jog. He had called me to see how things were going.

"Sandy and Patricia are going to the appointment with me so that I won't be alone."

"That's good. And speaking of Good, Jon's been acting strange. Usually he's all active, and good nature around here on the road. But lately, he's been sort of staring off into space. Like he's thinking of something."

I didn't tell him, no matter how much I wanted to. The kiss still lingered, as if I could pull up the memory and relive it all over again. It was that strong. And just thinking about it, my fingers lightly ran themselves over my lips.

"Did something happen?"

"Between Jon and I? No. But when he was here he heard the conversation I had with Jess. And it didn't turn out well."

"What happened?"

I told him the best that I could about it all. I told him how Jess felt about me and Joe being so close, and about how I wasn't interested in anyone, especially with Sketch gone. "And Jon followed me. I thought he was going to be a jerk face to me, like he usually is. But this time he asked me about hearing Drug Addict in the conversation. So I told him about my birth mom, and that's when he changed I guess. He told me about his mom being a drug addict and how she had lost him for two months before getting him back from foster care. And then we started being civilized. It felt so strange."

Colby didn't say anything, but I could tell he was thinking about what I said. I was holding out on telling him the truth about what happened at the house after all of that.

"Everyone kept telling him that you and him had a lot in common."

"And he hated me for it, remember?"

"Well maybe now he knows the truth of why people kept telling him you and him have something in common."

Was it enough to keep Jon on his good side? Was it enough for him and I to be civil?

"There's something else, but I'm not sure I want to talk about it over the phone."

"What? You know you can tell me. If Jon did something to hurt you?"

"No, but," I stopped.

But that didn't give him the right to kiss me. That didn't give me the right to feel excited about it.

"Annie?"

"Yeah, I'm here. I'm looking for a pair of elastic pants to take with me to the ultrasound." I said standing up to go through the dresser. "Then I have to go look through the ads for rentable apartments and then I have go food shopping with Patricia for Thanksgiving that is right around the corner and I'm just, frazzled."

"Frazzled?" His tone shifted into amusement.

"Yes, Rollins, I'm frazzled, I'm trying to work at the same time and it seems like there is never any time in the day for something for me to do. Myritza will be coming in on the twenty-third, I'm sure Patricia has stopped trying to get a hold of Vanessa to see if she would come down for Thanksgiving and I haven't heard from Joe since he's gotten out of the hospital."

"Okay, what happened? I thought this Jess and Joe and You thing got cleared up."

"I did, at least I thought it did. I keep going over what I could have done to piss her off." I said, standing in the middle of the bedroom with my hand on my head. "I keep coming back to the conversation. She said that he was in the hospital, I was at the airport with Tally and Solofa, and she said that Joe had hurt himself at the local event, prompting him to get put in the hospital. I had to leave, and I told her to…oh crap."

"What? What did you tell her?"

"I told her to give Joe a kiss for me and that I had to go. Do you think she mistook that as some sort of I Want to be with Your Man thing?"

"Could of, maybe, in retrospect. But I always took you and Joe as a brother and sister."

"As do I, but it seems like everything is back to square one."

There was a knock on my door and Patricia popped her head in to check up on me. "Hey sweetie, how are you? Ready yet?"

"Almost, Ma." I answered swiftly. "Colby's on the phone, can I get back to him?"

"Yeah, sure." She smiled and then closed the door behind her.

I sighed. "I have to get going. I can't get dressed if I'm talking to you."

"Yes you can, Ann. Just put me on speaker." He said.

"That's the one thing I don't like about phones, but now a days you can video chat so I guess speaker is better than that."

So that's what I did. After a few rounds of swearing and Colby laughing at me futile attempts to put Colby on speaker, I finally figured it out. That didn't mean I would know what to do the next time something like that were to happen.

"Okay, you're on speaker, Colby." I said as I started pulling off my shirt. "And stop laughing at me, Clown Nose."

"I don't have a clown nose." He responded.

"Yeah, you do, Rollins." I said. "No matter how cute you are, you have one funky looking schnoz."

"Schnoz? Isn't that German?"

"Don't know, actually." I grabbed a maternity shirt off my bed. "Could be. Anyway, let's talk later. I'm on pins and needles about the ultrasound."

"Hey, call me. You know, one of these days I want you to meet with my girl. I think you two would have something in common. Aside from the pregnant thing."

"Like what, Colby? I'm nothing in common with a lot of people."

"Yeah, you do. With Jon."

"Hanging up now. I definately don't want to think about that during my ultrasound. Talk to you later, Colby."

After that, after he told me bye, we hung up and I got ready to go.

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><p>Sandy and Patricia were in the car with me on the way to the OBGYN for the sonogram. I was sitting up front, chewing on my non-existent thumb nail by this point and Sandy was in the back seat.<p>

"Antoinette is getting bigger." I mentioned trying to start up a conversation in the deafly quiet car.

Sandy smiled. "And Kevin hardly knows what to do about it." She laughed. "So I gave him the task to keep an eye on her while I came with you to your appointment."

"Men don't usually know what to do with kids. Sika didn't." Patricia said. "With Matt and Joe he knew what to do, they were the boys. But the girls, oh he had no clue." She laughed as she turned onto the street where my appointment was located.

"How did you two handle being parents?" I asked.

"It was hard at first. Ann is the first one, the first ones are always the hardest." Sandy said.

"But it gets easier after the first ones." Patricia said. Of course she had five kids and they were as different as the one before them.

"Summer is getting bigger." Patricia said as if reading my mind. "She and Scott are so happy. They'll be spending Thanksgiving with his family this year. But I had to make her promise to come before Thanksgiving so that we can have dinner."

"Is she having a girl?" I asked.

"Yeah, they haven't come up with a name yet. Too bad you weren't here for the baby shower back in September. She did get the books you sent her though." Patricia glanced at me with a smile. "You are a good author, Annie. You're good with getting into the mindset of children." That was a nice thing someone could say at the time.

We pulled into the doctor's office parking lot and went in.

It didn't take long, especially after I had to do new patient paperwork, for me to get seen. Dr. Wu, a nice Chinese man and he was looking through my blood work and the medical history that I had supplied.

"You didn't mention anything from your father's medical history." "I didn't know my father. I had to request a copy of my birth certificate not too long ago." I answered glancing at Patricia.

"Oh, uh, maybe you should talk to your mom about it."

"That's not possible." I looked at him. "She killed my fiance, no one knows where she is." The doctor looked shocked. I could be so deadly in my explanations in things like this. I hated when people asked about them. But apparently this guy didn't watch the news.

"Okay, um, how about with you. Any know illnesses? Any medical stuff?" "No, I haven't been sick other than hospital visits while being in foster care."

"Okay." He made that note. "No abdominal trauma?"

"Somewhat, why?"

"I'm afraid that your uterus could be damaged if you grew up in an abusive situation, or had left an abusive relationship. Stress could lead to complications in your pregnancy." That's good to know, I was going through a lot of issues all the while pregnant. Note to self, relax and possible enjoy a nice relaxing lavender bubble bath. Peppermint shampoo, Tea Tree that's it. I hadn't had that in a while. That way I could forget these horrible answers that brought back the life I had tried to hide away.

After more necessary questions, we got to the sonogram. I was scared that I was going to find that there was something wrong with the baby. The moment that the image was put up on the screen, I started crying.

"See, there's the head, and that's an arm." Dr. Wu's assistant, the one in charge of the sonogram, said pointing out each of the limbs on the baby.

"So, is it a girl or a boy?" Patricia asked with near emergency.

"Ma'am, it'll take a little bit." Dr. Wu said from the doorway.

"I remember when Ann was being identified." Sandy sat back in her chair but her leg was bouncing fast on the ball of her foot.

I felt the same as she did. I kept biting the inside of my lip as I craned my neck to look at the sonogram screen. I wanted to see for myself that the baby was a boy. That way I could go about looking for an apartment or a house that would be the best thing for us to have. A yard with a play structure, close to the beach and close to Patricia and Sika. Maybe Joe but at that moment anything was good.

"And next to the two legs is…" the Sonogram tech started moving the sonogram wand around on my stomach. "The baby looks to be a boy. Dr. Wu, could you confirm for me?"

The doctor stepped forward to peer in at the screen. He pointed at it, and tilted his head as if trying to find out what to do about it.

"Well, Ms. Grange, it looks like you are having a little boy." My head fell back and the biggest smile I could give lit up my face.

"Spencer Joseph Carlson." I said. "I'm not letting my baby have my last name." I reached up and started wiping away at the tears that were falling down my face.

"Joseph?" Patricia asked reaching over to rub my knee as the tech started wiping the goop stuff off my stomach.

"Family tradition, naming children after someone in the family. Spencer because Sketch was always Sketch to me. Joseph because, it just fits, you know."

"Spencer Joseph," Sandy said. "That sounds so cute, Annie. It has a ring to it."

"I know." I wiped more tears from my face. "I knew I was going to have a boy. No offense but there are too many girls in the family. That way Joe can teach him how to play football when he gets older."

Patricia laughed. "I'm sure you'll be teaching him things too."

"Oh please, I don't know what to do with a kid."

Dr. Wu broke into the conversation. "Well, Ms. Grange, I think we're all set for today. You are taking your prenatal vitamins and you have to start relaxing more. The baby's heart rate is up, I'm sure it's because of your move down here and all that." Amongst other unmentionable things that have been going through my head. "But I want you to relax more and enjoy yourself here in the Sunshine state. And I'll see you in three weeks just to check up on you."

"Okay." I said pulling down my shirt.

"You know, this means we need to go out and celebrate. And I need to go see Joseph today." Patricia said. "You and him haven't talked in a while, not since you got here."

I no longer felt happy about it. "I need to call Colby and tell him the good news. He wants to come down and see me before he has to go to the pay-per-view."

"Oh that is so sweet of him." Sandy smiled. "How about we go celebrate and then I can get my car from your place and head on home. Right now I'm slightly missing Antoinette."

"Slightly?" I sat up on the table to look at her.

"Yes slightly, because the other half I'm sure Kevin is about ready to pull his hair out. She gets temperamental when doesn't fall to sleep with her lullaby CD playing. And he doesn't know that yet."

I couldn't wait to get out of there and get on to celebrating knowing that I had a son growing inside of me. It never occurred to me that I was going to be a mother in my lifetime, because family had always been a touchy subject. Maybe now I could get on with my life. Sketch would want that, he had always insisted that I learn from my past mistakes.

What we learn in our past we work on in our present and work towards in our future.

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><p><strong>So, what do you guys think? Well, until next time. See Ya!<strong>


	12. Chapter 11: Let's Go Over This Again

**Let's Go Over This Again**

We dropped Sandy off at the house so that she could drive back to Tampa to be with Kevin and Ann. I had promised to email her copies of the ultrasound so that way she could frame it.

Patricia turned onto the street where Joe was living with Jess and Tera. For being a major WWE superstar, the house was modest, like his childhood home. Joe's home was two stories, a creme color with a front yard that had a fence around it. There were three steps to get up to the front door. He lived in a more upscale kind of neighborhood. There weren't a lot of people who were decorating early, not like that house near Patricia's home.

As the older woman rang the doorbell I saw that the front blinds were drawn. Though the Tahoe was in the driveway, it almost sounded like no one was home.

Just then the front door opened and there was Tera, and when she saw me she squealed. "Auntie Nella, you're here." Then she tried to hug me but couldn't because of my stomach.

"Careful, Terracotta, you'll squeeze Cousin Spencer." I said pulling her back slightly.

"Spencer?"

"Yeah, sweetie, your cousin is a boy." I told her.

She squealed again and then ran into the house calling out to Joe. "Daddy! Daddy! Auntie Nella is having a baby boy!"

Patricia looked at me and smiled. "Well she's happy."

"And I hope Joe and Jess are the same kind of happy when they find out what I decided to name the baby." I responded as I walked into the house.

I had never been there, I had never stepped foot in Joe's home. It was big, the front room was more prominant than Patricia and Sika's home. It was a beautiful home, more modern that old. It had a nice creme colored couch and a recliner that matched. Tera had ran off up the stairs, still calling for her mom and dad. Patricia followed the little girl and I was right behind her.

There was a game room, which was where Joe was. Jess, I hadn't seen her since we got there. Joe was watching a football game, in a large leather recliner. I hadn't seen him since he was in the hospital after his surgery. He hadn't called me and I hadn't called him, because any time I did, no one would pick up. Every once in a while I would get a call from Tera, asking if I was okay but never anything from Joe.

Joe looked over at the door when Tera ran in. "Mom? What are you doing here?" And then he saw me stop at the doorway. "Annie?"

"Don't get up Joe." I said leaning against the doorway. "We just came to tell you the good news."

"Auntie Nella is having a boy." Tera said as she leaned onto the arm of the couch. "She's naming him Spencer."

"That's nice." He rubbed her head as he looked at me. "So it's a boy, huh?"

"Well, to keep a tradition going, he's Spencer Joseph."

"Spencer Joseph?"

"You're family, Joe. You're going to be this little boy's uncle." I said.

I heard a door at the end of the hall open. I was certain that it was Jess there and I was hoping that she had heard me. If she was listening in, maybe she would at least get the hint of what I was saying.

"An uncle huh?" Joe asked.

"Tera, sweetie, why don't we go and find something for Auntie Nella to drink. She's very thirsty right now." Patricia said holding her hand out to the little girl.

She seemed to buy that. "Okay." She skipped out of the room and Patricia followed behind her.

Joe sighed and rested his head on the back of the chair. "I'm sorry, Annie, for not calling or anything like that. I just want it to be Jess and me right now."

"It's because of me isn't it?"

"I know it's not something you want to hear. You have no idea how good it is to have you back in our lives." He said as he watched me walk into the room.

I found a foot stool and pulled it over towards Joe's chair. "I only see you as a brother now, Joe." I finally said as I sat down. "You were family back in the past. You had Jess, you had your eyes on her first but you got lost when I came into the picture."

"You were sweet, you had a rough life and you had the best attitude and I won't hesitate to say that you were cute."

"Well, thank you." I smiled leaning on the edge of the foot stool so that I could feel a bit more comfortable with such a big belly. "You and Dwayne seem to get better looking the older you get."

He chuckled. "Thanks."

But my voice changed slightly when I said, "But I fell in love with Sketch. I only told Jess to kiss you because you're my brother. Apparently that was the wrong thing to say."

He shrugged. "Could have been worse. I've been trying to keep it just Tera, Jess and me right now."

"Couldn't you have at least tried to call to see how I was doing? Dwayne does, Dany and Simone, a lot of the other family members call from time to time to see if I'm doing okay. I understand you have to prove to Jess that she's the one you want but I want to still be a part of your life, of Tera's life. How many times am I going to have to prove that I don't think of you as more than a brother?"

Joe pushed his hair out of his face. "I understand, I know. But I don't know how to deal with it."

"Jess is a wonderful woman, I see it in the way she treats Tera. But," I started to say.

"She can be clingy." Joe added. "And jealous."

"Jealous of me? I'm no one special to worry about."

"Why do we keep going in this circle?" He asked.

"I don't know." I answered. "But it's no weirder than Jon kissing me."

Apparently that came out of nowhere and Joe looked at me. "What do you mean Jon kissed you?"

I laughed. "He brought me back to the house, Patricia and Sika weren't there. He brought my stuff up the stairs but I slipped on the top step and I started to fall but he caught me. I turned and found myself in his arms, looking at him face to face. And then he kissed me."

"And…"

"And then he left and I haven't heard from him since."

"Wow." Joe sighed and rubbed his face. "Wow. Jon kissed you? No matter how much Mom wants you to have someone for Christmas, by Christmas, I didn't think it would be him."

"Huh?" I didn't understand what he was prattling on about. Patricia wanted me to be with a guy by Christmas? Like that was going to happen.

From in the hall, I heard Patricia. "Jess, there you are. I was wondering where you had gotten off to."

Jess walked into the room with Patricia and Tera, who came up and handed me a small glass of orange juice.

"I was taking a nap. Hi, Annie." She said waving at me.

I knew she was in the hall, I knew she had heard everything that I was telling Joe. And I didn't mind. She needed to learn the truth in some way.

Maybe now she believed me.

At least I hoped it was true.

* * *

><p>That night Patricia and Sika went out on their own to dinner. Sika took the news better than I had hoped. He loved the name Spencer Joseph, making the comment if they had adopted me then the child's last name would be Anoa'i.<p>

"It would be a great thing for the family, Annie." Sika said.

I smiled at him during the conversation. "But I want Sketch's memory and family to live on. At least I've decided on a first and middle name."

"I agree, dear." Patricia said as she was waiting at the door for Sika. "I also agree that the boy would need to know where his family came from."

At least that was right.

After they had left I was sitting at my laptop in my bedroom. I was writing, which was sort of relaxing. After visiting Joe, and knowing that Jess was again corrected, I felt more relaxed. Well as relaxed as I could get.

"Stop that." I mumbled looking down at my growing stomach.

Spencer kept kicking me, a foot in the rib here and a foot in the other rib there. As I was working on The Christmas Fairy, there was a knock at the door. Thirty minutes into my evening to myself, I sighed and got up from the laptop.

Padding my way downstairs, I heard another knock.

"I'm coming, I'm coming. A pregnant woman can only run down stairs so fast." I mumbled getting to the bottom.

I opened the door and stopped short. If my heart stopped for one more moment, my knees would have dropped.

"Sarah."

I couldn't believe it but my birth mother was there. She hadn't changed at all since the night she had killed Sketch.

"I need to speak to you." She said.

She wore that damn hoodie, like the night that she killed Sketch. She even had some tattered black jeans. But that was all I could make out before I stepped back inside the door.

"No, no." I started to close the door but she shoved it open.

"I didn't mean shoot him." She marched in, a gun in her hand.

"Get out!" I yelled stumbling backwards but luckily I had managed to stay on my feet. "You tried to kill me."

"But it was an accident, Annella. If, if you gave me the money then he would be alive. It's always your fault."

My fault? "My fault? How is any of this my fault." "If you just gave me the money. If you just did what you were supposed to do."

"I don't condone drugs, Sarah."

"I'm Your Mother!" She yelled, screamed more like it.

"You kill me then you will kill your grandson." I said turning around slightly.

I held my stomach with my left hand and held up my right towards her. She held that gun again, the same silver handgun that she had killed my Sketch with.

"I went home, to talk to you. I went there and there was someone else there." She rattled on, her hand shaking. "I didn't want to, I didn't want to but I had to find you."

"Sarah."

"Mother, I am your mother. Mom, call me mom damn it. That's all I wanted." And yet the gun still shook.

But I stayed my ground. Pregnant or not, she needed to think that I wasn't freaking out, if she did then it would mean death to me or my baby, or both of us. I didn't want to loose anything or anyone, especially in the house that I considered home for about a month.

"Go, Mom." I said. "They will find you and when they do they are going to arrest you. Killing Sketch was not the smartest thing to do."

"Then he should not have rushed at me. I was scared. I needed the money. I still do, Annie. It took me a month to find you. I won't let you go again."

"You shot me in the head."

"Only because you were going to call the police and they were going to arrest me and send me to prison. I couldn't let you, oh my gosh, you told them." The gun stilled as she looked at me. "You told them I did it."

"You shot me in the head. You could have killed me and my baby. What was I supposed to do."

"Family helps family, that's what the man said on the TV. Dwayne, that's what his name was. He helped you. So that's what you're supposed to do, you're supposed to help me. Give me money."

"I can't. That money needs to be for the new house I'm looking for."

I heard footsteps coming up the front step and I hoped that someone had seen what had happened. This was a tight knit community, maybe they were checking on us.

"Hey!"

Sarah turned around so fast that I looked too. And it was the strangest thing to see, Jon Good standing at the doorway. He had his hands in his raggedy jeans and a white t-shirt, standing in a sort of relaxed posture as if seeing a gun in his face seemed to not effect him. And he wasn't the only one there. The second figure behind him was Colby. He couldn't get in the door fast enough. And he was brave enough to shoot by Sarah to put himself between her and me.

I couldn't help but grab the back of his shirt and bury my face in his shoulder blades.

"So you're the bitch that took Sketch's life." Jon said evenly.

"This does not involve you, Young Man." She said in return and the gun was shaking in her hand yet again.

"Kind of does. Because you see, I like her." Jon nodded to me from where I was hiding behind Colby. "I kind of like her a lot. So if you shoot her, I'm going to grab that gun and shoot your brains in, lady." The threat of death against her made Sarah stare at him, the gun now at her side. Then she rushed out, pushing by Jon and running out in the night. He watched her go, and I stood shaking.

"Call the police, Princess." He said closing the door and locking it.

"Yeah," Colby added. "Call the cops, I'll call the others."

And I did call. I ran to the house phone in the kitchen and dialed 9-1-1. I found my body shaking heavier when I told the dispatcher my name and the issue that was going on with Sarah and something going on in Oakland, California. I was crying, I was stuttering so it was harder for me to get the words to come out right.

I felt Jon behind me, I felt him take the phone from me and then started talking to the operator.

"Hi, this is Dean Ambrose, a friend of Ms. Grange. Could you send a detective to this address?" He then told the address to the dispatcher. "Then you should get a hold of a detective with Oakland, one Mo Appleton. Yes, Mo Appleton. That's right. I'll stay here and wait. I need to call Ms. Grange's adopted family and let them know that Sarah Grange was here with a gun, yes I said a gun."

After that he hung up, all the while looking at me. I was still shaking, as if I was cold on the inside. My hands were fidgeting with something that wasn't even there and the shock of knowing how close my baby and I were to death just shattered my nerves.

"Oh, Princess." Jon brought up his hands and cupped my face. "It's okay." He kissed my forehead and I broke down.

I gripped his shirt and buried my face into his chest and continued to cry. Colby stood at the doorway to the kitchen and watched us as he waited for the police to show up. He made sure that he was between me and the doorway, just in case Sarah were to come back.

After that moment it all went fuzzy for me. It was a blur. I didn't know what really happened from there on out. A blur, that's all it was. Like I stood still while everything happened in fast forward.

How much more of this could I take before something bad were to happen to me or my baby?

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><p><strong>Yay, Jon came back! So what do you think? I really hoped you guys enjoyed this update. More to come, I promise.<strong>


	13. Chapter 12: Complicating and Confusing

**Here's Chapter 12. Hope you like it.**

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><p><strong>Complicating and Confusing<strong>

On the morning of November 21st, I woke up. At first I thought it was all a dream, that Sarah was just a figment of my imagination. It almost felt like a dream because I woke up in my bed.

The first thing that I did was sit up, just to make sure that it was real and that I wasn't dreaming at that part.

"This would make a good part in a story." I mumbled putting my legs over the edge of the bed.

And that's when a lump in the other bed in the room moved. It was a large lump, a very large lump. And a very large lump grew in my throat. Because the moment I saw the dirty blond hair and that strong jaw as he turned over in his sleep, it was a moment I didn't think I could handle.

"Princess." Jon smiled as he stretched. "Sleep well?"

I managed to dumbly nod. "What are you doing here? In this room?"

"I didn't want to leave you last night."

That little bit of information brought back some of the memories of what happened the night before. I was found crying in Dean Ambrose's arms by police who answered the emergency call I had placed but couldn't end. Sika and Patricia came home to police and K9 scent dogs looking for Sarah. Then they found their distraught pregnant adopted daughter was crying in the arms of a family friend. That much I did remember well, but there were snippets of Jon guiding me up the stairs, his hand in the middle of my back and then Patricia coming in to help get me dressed for bed because I just shut down. Colby wasn't there but I would ask him where he was.

"I'll watch her tonight." Jon said, I remembered that part. But anything else, I wasn't sure.

And now it just felt weird, Jon laying down in bed, me standing next to it looking down at him. Was I looking too far ahead of this? He had no reason to be there last night. Him and Colby both for that matter, but he had no reason for what he told Sarah about me.

Did he like me?

"You're thinking hard." He said, crossing his arms under his head. "About what?"

"What were you doing here last night?"

"Honestly?" He asked and I nodded in return. "Well, I had a talk with Colby and he said that you told him about the kiss we had on the stairs. He said that you were so confused about it and that I needed to explain myself to you. That's why we came last night, he wanted to make sure you were okay and I wanted to admit my feelings in some way. I guess we got here just in time, huh?"

He pushed the blankets away and in a white tank top and green plaid sleep pants, he stood up. Jon Good towered over me, easily. And now he was staring down at me.

"For some reason I liked it. That kiss." He said making me look at him in the face.

And my stomach flopped. No, really it did. Spencer was kicking up a storm as I watched Jon step closer to me.

"But I feel like you didn't." He leaned his head down to me.

I swallowed. "I was shocked."

"Because I was the one kissing you and not Joe?"

"That was the past. I'm his honorary sister, I'm Tera's Auntie Nella now. I don't think I want that to change."

He tilted his head, nearly like a dog thinking about the strange noise he just heard. And then there was a smile, a smile that reached his eyes this time. It made the slight lines at the edge of his eyes tighter.

"The Anoa'i family does consider you a piece of the family." He confirmed. "But listen, Princess, I want you to know," he stepped closer to me, bringing his hand up to cup the back of my head. "I was not lying to that woman last night. I like you. I kind of like you a lot. I just don't think I'm the guy for you."

So was that why he was making my life miserable? A Childish prank, calling me names I didn't care for because he knew they would annoy me, being a jerk face to me all this time was because he had a slight crush on me? How more childish could this man get towards me.

"You're an idiot." That came out of my mouth out of nowhere.

And yet he was still smiling. "Yeah, stupid isn't it." He was rubbing the back of my head with his thumb in slow lazy circles.

"It's not really stupid, maybe how you handled it was stupid." I pulled out of his grasp and sat down on my bed. "You made me feel stupid about myself sometimes. You made me feel like I was the reason for some of the things going on in your life that you hated."

"What I hated was everyone telling me that you and me had so much in common."

"We had a rough childhood. You love wrestling and I could care less about it. I went to college for English and writing, you dropped out of high school so that you could pursue your wrestling dream." I supplied for him, listing off the major things.

"Your mother and mine were druggies." He added sitting down on the bed next to me. "And then there's the whole foster care stuff."

"Yeah, you had two months. Try living in it for sixteen years."

"But you came out all right. You came out successful, I came out all jacked up. In my early years of wrestling I actually used, I think it was cocaine. I even wrestled under the influence several times. And you, you had what it took to be straight and know where you were headed in life."

"So did you. Wrestling I mean." I looked across the room towards the window where the sun was starting to peek through. "It gave you a reason to do something in your life."

Then we fell into a silent understanding. It was good to talk about this with someone, especially someone that was starting to grow on me.

"Can I feel him? It's a him, right?" Jon asked motioning to my stomach.

I nodded at first. "It's kind of funny, he moves when you're around, rest of the time he doesn't try to do the cha-cha on my spleen." I said. I didn't touch Jon but he placed his own hand on my stomach so that he could feel the baby. "His name is Spencer Joseph, I'm giving him a little piece of Sketch and a little piece of Joe's family, continuing the tradition because Tera's middle name is Anne and Sandy's daughter it Antoinette."

"A tradition huh? I wouldn't know about children, sure they're cool because they are someone else's problem, but they seem to be more respectful than adults are." Jon looked back at my stomach as he rubbed lazy circles around it. "Where does he kick the most?"

I picked up his hand and moved it to the upper left side of my stomach. That was the area where Spencer loved to kick me the most.

"Wow, I can feel him. Was Spencer a kicker in the football teams?" Jon smiled still looking at my stomach.

"I'm not sure. I didn't like going a lot of the time. Sports aren't something that I understand or really care for."

Jon laughed as he felt a sharp tap against his palm. "That's too bad, cause this kid is a strong one."

I liked this, I liked this feeling. It was hard to explain. I felt happy, and that it was Jon there who was making me happy. That Jon was the one to stand up to my mother. But six months, I lost Sketch six months ago and I was still trying to get over it. Another but was that I was beginning to like Jon, maybe a little too much.

"Thank you for being here." I said.

"You're welcome, Princess." He said, looking at me in my eyes.

And yes, he kissed me. He liked to bite for some reason, and as far from romantic as that was, I didn't try to pull away. Well at first I didn't. He nipped at my bottom lip and then my upper lip. He was trying to deepen it but I wasn't having any of that.

"I can't." I said after turning my head away from him. "It's too soon."

Jon groaned as he stood up. "Then when you're ready, come look for me, Princess. But if you think of starting anything with someone else, just remember something."

"What?" I asked.

He stooped back down and finally caught me in a kiss that kicked me in the stomach. Spencer was kicking up a storm yet again and then I felt my hand go up and grasp the back of Jon's head, raking my fingers through his hair. It was the kind of kiss that would take my breath away, and that didn't happen a lot.

"Remember that one, Annie." He actually used my name. "Because I can give you more like that in the future if you just let me."

Soon he left me in the bedroom alone. But I didn't stay there long.

* * *

><p>I had gotten dressed and was heading down the stairs. I felt a little better. But then again after sharing those kisses with Jon I felt a little bit on the weird side. I mean, Sketch was gone, it was complicating to me. But then again, Jon was a complicating kind of person.<p>

"Hi, sweetie." Patricia said when I walked into the kitchen. "Did you sleep well."

"As good as I could. Are the detectives coming by later?"

"Yeah, I think so. Do you want something?" She asked trying to change the subject.

Sika, Colby and Jon were standing on the back deck talking. I could see them through the glass back door. I sat down at the kitchen table playing with my phone, knowing all the messages that were on there. My phone was put on silent and I saw the notices that were on there. Plenty from Dwayne and Dany. Even several from Joe's number.

Knowing that Joe called me I looked over at Patricia. "Has Joe called this morning?"

"Yeah, while you were still sleeping. I told him that I would tell you to call him. I hope you don't mind me telling him what happened."

"No, I don't mind. He should know." I said opening up my phone. "I need to talk to someone about something." I announced.

"What is it, sweetie? You know that you can always tell me anything?"

Patricia sat a bowl of oatmeal down in front of me. I looked at it and didn't feel like eating. Maybe when it had cooled down somewhat. "I, uh, feel strange. Not with the baby, not getting sick or anything, but I'm not feeling emotionally well." I confessed.

"Is something going on?"

"I, I kissed Jon Good." That came out of my mouth in a rush. "It happened closer to the beginning of when Joe got hurt and I was just moving here. He brought me back here and as we were going up the stairs I slipped. He caught me and then he caught me off guard big time. He kissed me."

"Oh sweetie." It almost sounded like she was cooing at me, like she was happy with what I had told her.

"But that wasn't the only time. This morning we were talking and he kissed me again, only a little more passionately and little more aggressive." I picked up the spoon to play with the oatmeal. "He said that if I wanted to get with anyone else, just think about one thing, and he kissed me again before leaving me in a confused state."

"You don't kiss someone unless it means something, Annella." It had been a long time since someone had used that name, besides medical people and what not.

I stared at the bowl of oatmeal and continued to play with it.

"So Jon likes you. Isn't that a good thing?" She asked. Biting the inside of my lip, I didn't dare look up at the woman. She raised me for a month, she gave me good cloths and fed me. She cared for me but if I looked at Patricia I was going to crack and confess something that I wasn't so sure about even to myself.

Just then, almost like a sitcom or something, Joe walked into the kitchen, but he wasn't alone. Cousin Dwayne was with him and so was of all people the Usos Jonathan and Josh.

"Cuz." Jonathan and Josh chorused coming to hug me.

And I lost it. I sort of started crying while I hugged each of them. They told me they were scared for my safety and this was a family issue so they flew in to see me. I couldn't have been happier to have them there. After them came Dwayne who asked me if I was okay.

"Jon Good and Colby were here, they stopped her from shooting me."

"Good, that's good." Dwayne said as I allowed him in to hug me. "So, what now?" He asked.

"She, Sarah I mean, said something about the family that moved into my apartment. I think she did something." I stated running my hands over my eyes and face. And then I sighed. "I'm sorry, Patty, I can't eat right now."

I pushed by the group and headed out of the kitchen. Just thinking about the family, it made me sick knowing what that woman could have done to them.

Colby caught up with me on the stairs. "Annie."

I held my stomach in my hands and continued to cry.

"Hey, hey, you need to stop." He said coming to sit next to me on the stairs. "Calm down, you need to do this for Spencer." I sobbed and rested my head on his shoulder. "Innocent children were hurt…"

"No, no they weren't. The ones that moved into your old apartment? No, they and their mother weren't hurt. They had to give her, I mean Sarah, some cash in order to leave but that was it. They are okay." Colby said trying to soothe me.

From the bottom of the stairs nearly everyone was there watching me, except for Jon. It was hard trying to stop crying when I just felt like I couldn't.

"Princess?" I heard Jon say as he rounded the corner to the stairs.

And the gawkers pulled aside for him so that he could walk up the stairs towards me.

"Colby, go get her something to drink. I'll take her to her room." Jon said as he got up to me.

I took his hands and he helped me up. Then I turned and was going to make my way up the stairs when I heard him say something unexpected from behind me.

"Up you go, Preggers."

And I whirled around so fast that I wobbled on my bare feet. Then just like that I slapped him for no apparent reason. Patricia gasped, holding her hands over her mouth while everyone else froze. Colby was almost down the stairs when that happened and he stopped to look at what Jon was going to do.

"You know what, Princess, that's very kinky of you. Really, it is. But right now, you need to slow your roll and settle down so that you don't make yourself and Spencer sick."

I sighed and stalked up the stairs. Sure I was still pissed off at Jon but really, he just knew how to push my buttons.

At least the family was okay. I needed to know that no innocent child was hurt when Sarah found the place.

But now what? What was I going to do? Was I going to be able to make it to the birth of my son? And why the hell was Jon being so nice to me all of a sudden.

One thing was for sure, pregnancy hormones sucked.

* * *

><p><strong>I have to admit, the ending was a little dry. At least that was how I saw it. But what do you guys think? Overall, was it good? <strong>

**Before I go, I wanted to thank all of you that have reviewed my story. They are great encouragements for me to keep on writing. So, yeah, thanks for all the support too.**

**Until next time, See You there.**


	14. Chapter 13: Thanksgiving Part 1

**Thanksgiving Part 1**

**Blast From the Past**

The days that followed were mostly of me staying in the Anoa'i house. Patricia didn't really like leaving me alone. But we were sort of relaxed when police cars would come on by, in regards from the detectives that were handling my case. There were still no sign of Sarah Grange anywhere. It was like she had vanished.

"Which is common." Jon told me once before he had left. "If they don't want to be found, then they won't. Mom used to go on binges and left me home alone for days."

But I forced myself to not think about that. Day in and day out I would do something to preoccupy my brain. Mainly just righting. And in the days before Thanksgiving, it gave me time to finish The Christmas Fairy for my publishers.

I woke up on Thanksgiving morning to the smell of pies. Stretching I felt the ache in my back flare up as Spencer started moving around.

"Morning, Princess." Jon said as he was standing at the doorway.

That was enough of a start for me to jump slightly. How was it that such a big guy could move so quietly? He seemed to like startling me and making me jump out of my skin when he was around.

"Jon," I put my hand over my heart just in case it was going to stop in fright. "Stop that, you keep scaring me." I said as I looked back at him. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Would it creep you out when I say I like seeing you sleep?" He asked stepping into the room.

Something stirred in me, and it wasn't just Spencer this time.

"Kind of yes," I answered as I stood up from the bed. "I'm still on the fence on about how to see you as."

"Creepy stalker guy, right?" He asked.

"Are you trying to make up for lost time?" I asked in return.

"Would it bother you if I said yes?"

I bit my lower lip. I wondered what was going through his head when he decided to say that. I broke and looked away from him as I headed for my dresser.

"I need to change." I said glancing at Jon.

"Yeah, you need to look good for the family when they show up." He smiled at me before closing the door, leaving me to get ready for the day ahead.

I jumped into the shower. There were a lot of people coming and I wanted to look presentable, not like a depressed pregnant woman. I had found some of my professional slacks, and a nice red maternity blouse I got when I needed bigger cloths for my belly. I got out of the shower, made sure that I had combed my hair over my chipped ear, and even added some eye shadow and lip gloss.

There was a knock on the bathroom door. "Annie, you in there?"

I couldn't believe it, Myritza was there! Her brother Matt was in the process of moving to Florida after a divorce. But Myritza was still in Ohio, at least that was the last that she told me. She was supposed to be there by the twenty-third but something had been keeping her in Ohio.

Flinging the door open, considering that I was now dressed, there was Myritza smiling at me. And since I hadn't seen her after Sketch's funeral I was more than happy to hug.

"You're looking so much better since the last time we were in the house together." She said pulling back to inspect my face. "You're hiding the scars?"

"I don't want anyone to see them."

"I liked it when your hair was choppy short. It made you look so grown up. When it's long you look so much younger."

"Maybe that's why I am growing it." I had turned back to the mirror to set my make up again. "Maybe no one would figure out who I am that way."

"You're not deformed if that's what's going through your head."

"What's going through your head, My? Have you told Mom that you're going to New York for a job offer?"

"Mom?"

Did I just say that? Well she was the biggest help I could think of at that moment. She treated me like I was her daughter, her and Sika both.

"You're coming along faster than the last time you stayed in the house." She nudged my shoulder slightly. "Matt's going to be here, he's out doing something. I took a taxi here." She changed the subject on purpose, I knew she would. She hadn't mentioned anything to her parents yet.

I finished up in the bathroom and decided it was time to start seeing people for the day.

"Dwayne, Dany and Simone are going to be here." I added to the conversation.

"Cousin Jon is going to be staying with Trinity's family this year."

Trinity was Jimmy Uso's wife, she played Naomi in the WWE. When there had been that family emergency the twins hopped on a plane out to see what was going on. Trinity didn't come because she had work to do. But Cousin Joshua was going to be there.

"Where's Joe, he's usually here early for Thanksgiving."

"I don't know." I shrugged as we walked down the stairs. "I know that Summer is going to be at her boyfriend's family this year, I heard Mom talk about it to Tally."

It was getting natural to start referring to Patricia in conversation as Mom, at least to Myritza. I was going to see how long that was going to last.

"I'm going to sit in the front room with my trusty laptop. I think it's still down there. That way if the doorbell rings then I can get it for the house. I got shoved out of the kitchen help duties."

"Gee, Mom sure is going out on a limb for you. Not helping in the kitchen? Boy, she really is being protective of you. In the Samoan heritage around here, women in the kitchen, men out at the barbecue pit with the pig. That's all I've ever seen it in a majority of my life." She said.

I sat down at my laptop in the front room shortly after Myritza and I took separate paths.

I was a good way done with The Christmas Fairy. I had it mostly done, with more than twenty seven chapters already and I was more or less working on the revision. Like finding those spots where certain chapters were missing crucial scenes to tie it all together. And that was the kind of stuff that made it hard to be a writer, the first draft was hardly ever in the final, if at all.

Just then the doorbell rang and I smiled to myself.

"I got it." I called out.

For the most part the family went around the house in bare feet, less of a chance to drag the sand in from the beach. So it was no wonder to see Josh taking off his shoes when I answered the door.

"Hi, Cuz," I said looking at him.

He looked at me in return. "Hey, Cuz, how are things?"

"Tiring but that's what to expect with pregnant women. I'm trying to work on a final draft for my story. I want to finish it before Christmas, since I started on it in August."

He stepped into the house. "You started it in August? Wasn't that when Sketch died?"

"Yeah, after he died at least." I answered as I closed the door behind him. "But I hadn't written anything since then and Colby got the first line out for me to work off of. It's a Hallmark Christmas sort of novella."

"Ah, the novella. Something nice to curl up with on a lazy night. For women of course."

"Ha ha, go find your mother. I think she's in the kitchen with Patricia." I pushed him towards the direction of the kitchen. "And don't think of sampling those pies, Josh."

* * *

><p>It was strange to be there at the Anoa'i house for Thanksgiving again. But I kept that to myself as I answered the door for anyone that knocked or rang the doorbell. It was the only thing that I could do, considering that I was getting bigger and my back and feet were starting to get more uncomfortable if I stood up for too long.<p>

So I was at the ready whenever someone would come to the door. It was no different when at Noon I heard the doorbell.

Upon opening the door I tilted my head slightly.

"Matt?" I asked as I looked at him.

"Hi, Little Sis." He smiled.

And like most of the family, I got welcomed with one of those big hugs. At least this time I wasn't pregnant and they didn't try to squeeze the life out of me. Matt was no different.

"Sorry it took so long for us to met." I said with a restricted air in my lungs.

He let go but still smiled down at me. "It's all right, Little Sis. I understand. So, how are you doing?" Matt asked.

I stepped back into the house and closed the door behind Matt. "I'm doing okay. But Spencer Joseph has been getting more active lately."

"Spencer Joseph, how is Jess taking to the news?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. Joe hasn't spoken about it when he calls to check up on me. Speaking of Jess, Joe had called here earlier, Patricia said that Jess's family wanted to spend Thanksgiving with Joe and Tera. So they aren't here today. We seem to be going around in a circle when it comes to Joe and me."

As I was sitting down at my place on the couch so that my laptop was in front of me, Matt stood nearby with his hands on the back of one of the couches. As he was looking at me, I could tell he was thinking about something.

"I hear stuff about you and Jon Good." He stated. "Mom likes to talk a lot about you."

"I'm still working on that." I replied quickly while looking at the laptop screen.

"Where is he? I thought Mom invited him here for Thanksgiving."

"He should be somewhere around here. I haven't seen much of him since this morning." Jon had left for a few shows, even a Major pay-per-view of some sort. I didn't watch it, it made me feel weird. I did watch the Monday Night Raw afterward with Tera and Joe, and found out that The Authority had been kicked out of the scene. They weren't in charge of the company or something like that. At least that was what Jon told me when he came back for Thanksgiving."

"Is Colby here too? Mom and Dad told me about the incident that happened earlier in the month."

I saved my document to my handy dandy flashdrive so that it wouldn't be lost and then I stood up again. I lost my place in the story but decided I needed a little break. "No he's not. He's got his own family stuff to do right now. Come on, let's go tell Mom that you're here."

Matt's smile grew three times the size it had been earlier. "Okay, let's go see Mom.

I walked Matt into kitchen where Patricia, Tally and some other women were fixing the dinner that could feed an army. They were doing the indoor meal cooking while Solofa, Sika, Afa- Sika's brother- were outside with the rest of the men cooking up a traditional whole hog for the night's feast.

"Mom, why isn't Annie helping out with the meal?" Matt asked smiling at Patricia.

"Is that any way to greet your mother, Matthew?" She responded while wiping her hands on a towel and then going over to hug her oldest son.

I smiled at the sight. I always marveled at the closeness of this family every time I was around them. They shared real love, love I didn't have much of when I was a child. Now I was seeing what it was like to finally be seen as part of the family.

"Annie, you know you don't have to answer the door every time someone knocks or when the doorbell rings." Patricia said as she looked at me.

"I don't mind. As long as I'm doing something." There was a doorbell sound that came shortly after I had said that. "That's my cue, I'll be right back."

I turned to leave and that's when I ran right into Jon, who somehow appeared out of nowhere behind me yet again. He was looking good for a change. He was wearing nice slacks, a light blue button up dress shirt and he even had a freshly trimmed face. Okay, so he was handsome in his own way, but that was still strange considering how he usually presented himself.

"Sorry about that, Princess." He apologized.

"It's okay, no harm done." I smiled just a little before moving around him before making a break for the front door.

I tried suppressing the feeling I had when Jon looked at me. It was the same look I got from him every time he admitted that he liked me. And it always sent me into a fit of emotions, usually ending up with Spencer kicking up a storm.

As I pushed those thoughts aside, I had reached the door and prepared for myself to open the door.

I opened the door and the welcoming smile I had given to everyone that had by far showed up at the house fell almost instantly when I saw who was out there.

* * *

><p><strong>Yeah, I do this a lot in my stories. Aren't cliff hangers just so fun? (Sarcasm of course). Anyway, hope you guys liked this update. Until Next Time!<strong>


	15. Chapter 14: Thanksgiving Part 2

**Thanksgiving Part 2**

**Blast From the Past**

"Vanessa?" I found myself asking.

There was no mistaking her Samoan beauty. Even twelve years later she was still gorgeous. Perfect hair, nice big curls that hung off her shoulders. She still had that perfect body any supermodel would love. I had been envious of her and her beauty, because she seemed to have it all together. But now I was wondering why she was there. And then I found out. She wasn't alone because there was a red haired man with her, gorgeous on all counts. He was still tall and massive looking, as he had been on the day I met him when I was sixteen.

"Brandon?" I only asked because I was shocked to see them there.

"Annella?" He asked, even he appeared to be as surprised as I was at that moment. "Who knocked you up?"

Well, nothing has changed with Brandon apparently.

I stepped back from the door so that they could enter. "Please come on in."

I didn't know how to approach this matter. Vanessa and Brandon were the ones that gave me so much heartache in my childhood. Mostly Vanessa but Brandon was ever the jerk. Regardless of the fact, they had every right to be there.

They followed me to the kitchen where I hoped everything was going to be cleared up.

"Patricia." I said upon entering the kitchen.

"Yeah, sweetie." She said too busy with the gravy to look up.

So I broke the news. "Vanessa and Brandon are here." I said as the two of them walked up behind me in the kitchen.

"So you're the maid now? Kind of hard being pregnant don't you think?" Brandon asked.

She and the others looked up almost in unison. And that was when Jon decided to come in through the sliding glass door only to stop short when seeing his ex-girlfriend there with Brandon.

"Hi, Jon." Vanessa gave him a small smile along with a small wave of her hand.

As if to welcome the attention, Brandon put his arm around Vanessa's shoulders.

"Come on, Princess." Jon said. "I want you to do something with me."

Brandon laughed. "I bet." He said.

I had to physically keep Jon from attacking Brandon in the kitchen.

"Jon, don't." I pressed my hand to his chest. "It's not worth it. He's not worth it. You're better than this."

And miraculously he stopped fighting me. Instead, he took my wrists and pulled me practically flush against him. Then he kissed me on my forehead, all the while looking over my head at Brandon.

"Sure, Princess. We're going to the beach. We'll be back by dinner time, Ms. Patricia." He turned and guided me out of the house by the hand.

Dwayne was out back with the guys and he smiled when he saw Jon and me come outside. "Hey, where are you two heading off to?" He asked.

"The beach. Oh, Brandon Kellett and Vanessa are here, Sika." I said as Jon opened the gate.

Whatever Sika said, it didn't sound good, of course I didn't speak Samoan. "Afa, tend the grill. I'm going to talk to my daughter." He finally said but after that I was out of ear shot.

When Jon and I got to the beach I felt a little better. And just taking off my shoes proved to be the answer. The feeling of the sand under my feet tickled slightly as we walked along the water's edge.

"It feels good to be out here." I said as the cool ocean breeze hit me in my face.

"Don't you come out here all the time?" Jon asked.

"No. I like going to the beach with someone." I replied stepping over a driftwood branch.

"I guess then you and me will have to make something of it today." Jon said reaching out for my hand.

I didn't pull away, which I would have done in the past but now it just felt natural in some way.

"What do you have in mind, Jon?"

"Seashell Christmas Ornaments, why else would I bring you out here?"

"Jon, you don't have to." I said. "That was a Sketch and me thing." I wanted to say that he and I should start our own tradition together but I just couldn't get my mouth to say it.

"What if I said I wanted you to teach me."

"Teach you what?"

I watched him reach down and pick something up off the sand. Turning his hand over, Jon showed me what he had. It was a sand dollar, perfectly intact and beautiful.

"I want you to teach me about finding happiness in the smallest details." He said, turning to look down at me. "So will you do it? Please? Also it would get my mind off of Brandon Kellett."

"Okay, I want to forget him and Vanessa, too, and the torture I endured as a kid." I added taking the sand dollar from him.

And we did forget about them. Between choosing shells and tossing seaweed at each other, that is. I wouldn't call this a real date. We were escaping the people that had hurt us in the past. Jon's relationship with Vanessa and my month long issues I had to deal with in the Anoa'i house.

"So," Jon said as we sat down on that large tree trunk drift wood log. "I want to straighten some things out with you, Princess."

"Hmm." I asked leaning to the side, propping my body up so that I was sitting more comfortably.

"I used to date Vanessa." He responded.

"Joe told me."

"Did he tell you that she cheated on me with Kellett?"

I nodded. "Yes he did."

"She was the reason why I left Florida at all. I lived in Tampa, we were living together and I thought we were happy. But then I got called up to the main roster and then I got famous."

"And she broke your heart. It shattered." I mumbled rubbing my stomach.

He nodded. "Everyone kept telling me how you and I have so much in common, at least with our childhoods. I hated it, I hated women. It seems like every time I get involved with one then they go and cheat on me."

"Is that what happened with your last relationship?"

He hung his head. "I had started getting over what Vanessa did, I mean I focused all of my attention on wrestling just to forget about it. I was getting famous, I was getting the recognition and then I met my ex."

"Then what happened when we met?"

"Sketch's funeral was about two weeks after I had broken up with her. And Joe was telling Colb and I about how wonderful you were. I didn't care, I decided that I was going to hate you. And then Ms. Patricia said that you and me would be great together. I guess I just snapped and started unleashing my hate on you."

I reached over and rubbed his back. I didn't know what else to do in that moment, but I could forgive him. Jon still didn't look at me. It was like he was embarrassed.

"But," he sighed, I guess trying to find the words. "If I pushed you away, if I made you hate me then I wouldn't hurt, right?"

"I thought it was because you liked me, like when boys pull girls' hair just to get a reaction out of them because they didn't know how else to approach the girl." I said as I continued to rub his back.

"Yeah, I guess. Maybe a mix of both. I liked you, you were sweet and caring. I could see you doing all sorts of things with Tera. I could see how you managed that episode back before you left for Oakland. You have so much good in you, I just wanted to knock you off your high horse. Not that you were on one to begin with."

"And that resulted in me referring you to two faced degenerate or just the jackass." I said.

"But then I started really seeing you, seeing how passionate you were. And when Colby and I walked in on your mother holding a gun, I just, I'm surprised I didn't deck her take the gun and then shoot her myself."

"I started seeing you differently when you kissed me on the stairs."

There, I admitted it. I admitted that I at least started feeling different about him.

"That's good to know, Princess." Jon said as he took my chin in his hand and then kissed me.

* * *

><p>Jon and I headed back to the house. I was nowhere near close as to what Jon wanted from me. I was nowhere near close to what I wanted with him.<p>

We were heading back to the house, it was getting closer to dinner time and we did say we would be back by then.

"Here, let's put these down here out of the way." Jon said stopping at the fallen tree that was near the back gate. He took the shells that were in my hands and put them down. "Come on," he then took my hand and guided me to the backyard.

Coming back was the hardest thing to do. We knew that Vanessa and Brandon were going to be there and it was like I could feel the tension in the air as we walked into the house.

"You two better go wash up." Patricia said. "We're about ready to start."

"We're working on it." I said following Jon out of the kitchen. "Wait, I need to get my laptop upstairs first."

"I'll be upstairs." Jon dropped my hand and then walked towards the staircase.

I went back to the couch and the coffee table to look for my laptop. But there was an issue, it wasn't there. Come to think of it, I was sure that I had left it there when I answered the door for…

"Vanessa."

She had nearly wrecked my school project back when I was sixteen, the first attempt at Perry Miser went down the drain when she had chucked my new laptop out in the front yard. I nearly lost everything that I had on that laptop. So afterward I started saving all my stuff to flashdrives so that way I can access to different places.

But now it seemed like my stuff was missing again.

I got to the top of the stairs and found Jon coming out of the bathroom.

"What's up, Princess?" He asked.

"I can't find my laptop."

"I saw it downstairs a while ago."

"I know," I ran my hand over my head. "Maybe Patricia picked it up and put it up in my room. I remember I was saving my document on my flashdrive when Matt came in. Let me go check my room."

But a quick look in there told me that I was still out of a laptop. I had a backup, the one that I had from my childhood which was enough for me at the moment since it also took my writing program that I used all the time. That was in my luggage, it was something that I was going to forever hold on to. It was the one I was given on my last Christmas with the Anoa'i family.

"Still nothing?" I looked at Jon as he followed me into the kitchen.

"No, nothing. I mean luckily I saved all my work on my flashdrive." I glanced at Vanessa who was standing in the corner of the kitchen filing her nails. She looked like she didn't want to be there.

"It'll show up, I'm sure." Patricia said, glancing at her daughter as well.

"Sure, Mom. I guess you're right." I mumbled looking around. "I still have the laptop from twelve years ago, it's my back up, but the missing one is my work laptop."

"Your work laptop? Is that the one you work on your Perry Miser stories?"

"Yeah. I had an almost finished second draft that I wanted to get out to my publishers soon and I just…"

Suddenly there was the sound of the doorbell. Almost on instinct I turned to go answer it but I didn't have to. I found Tera coming into the kitchen with Joe and Jess following right behind her. I was mildly shocked, because I thought they weren't going to be there.

"Auntie Nella, why was your laptop in the garbage can next to the garage?" She asked handing it to me.

"I don't know." I answered. "But look, Aunt Vanessa is here." I said pointing to the corner.

"Oh." She looked at Vanessa, who smiled at her. "Auntie Nella, can you show me your new book?" She asked.

"It's almost dinner time. Are you three staying for dinner?"

Joe spoke up. "Yes we are."

"I wanted Tera to spend time with you more now that you are living here in Pensacola." Jess added quickly.

For a moment I wondered what she would mean by that.

"Well, let me go put this up in my room." I stood straighter. "Better get washed up, there is a crowd outside waiting to eat. I hear Samoan men don't like to wait to eat."

"Okay." She broke out in a big grin and headed to the back door.

Vanessa also left, out the back door. Soon the other women in the kitchen also left to go put the food on the tables that were outside.

So it just left me in the kitchen with Joe and Jess. Joe and I looked at each other. Then I looked at Jess and shrugged to myself. It's what I did that probably shocked her.

I hugged her. "Glad you both could make it." I said as I pulled back and then went and gave Joe a hug. "But be warned, Vanessa also brought Brandon here."

"How's Jon taking it?" Jess asked.

I shrugged. "Aside from Brandon making snide comments about me being pregnant and stuff like that, nothing yet so far. He just likes to press my buttons differently than was Jon does."

"Where is he?" Jess asked.

"I'm right here."

Joe and Jon hugged it out. "Come on, let's go out and mingle." Joe said, grabbing Jess's hand.

Anything to make this day special was what I wanted, I thought as I headed upstairs to put my laptop up.

* * *

><p><strong>There, now you know who decided to show up for Thanksgiving. Liked it, right? There is one more Thanksgiving Part to come and that will be tomorrow. So until then, have a nice day.<strong>


	16. Chapter 15: Thanksgiving Part 3

**Thanksgiving Part 3**

**The Feast to Remember**

I was sitting at a picnic table with Jon and Josh. Then there was Dany, Simone, Tera and Joe and Jess. We packed that one table.

"So, Annie, what have you been doing lately." Dwayne asked from his side of the table.

Though it was kind of odd. Jon and Joe were sitting on the same side as Tera, Jess and me. Dwayne, Josh, Dany and Simone were on the other side of the table kind of equaling each side out. I was surprised that the table hadn't broken yet. Or tipped over on one side or the other.

"Trying to find a home, mostly here in Pensacola. Regardless that the publishing company is located in Miami, and I do have to go out there to do some legal stuff, I want to stay here. I mean this is where I felt the most at home."

"Is it hard looking for a right place?" Dany asked.

"It is when I want to think about Spencer's future. I want him to go to a good school, I want him to prosper, I don't want the life that I had growing up."

"Sounds like me when I found out Dany was having Simone." Dwayne smiled.

"Sounds like Jess and me when we had Tera." Joe nodded in understanding.

"Is there something you want for Christmas, Auntie Nella?"

I paused, my spoonful of mashed potatoes hovering just in front of my mouth. I put my spoon down and looked at the little girl.

"My Christmas wish has already happened a while ago, Sweetie. There is nothing I wanted more than to have a family. And look around you sweetie, I do. I have my Momma, Pops over there with Solofa. I got my sisters and brothers, even if I just met Uncle Matt today. I couldn't ask for more, sweetie. Though I didn't think I would come out of it with so many cousins."

Wow, I did the most heart warming speech that I could. "Can you tell me about your real mom?" She asked.

"That isn't something you need to know about, sweetie." Joe said.

"My real mom? She was sick, sweetie. She was not a good person. But when you're older I will tell you the real story. But right now, Tally's mashed potatoes are calling me."

Everyone at the table laughed at that.

We fell into a meal that was the best I had actually enjoyed in a long time. And as the late day started edging into early evening and the light of day started disappearing, I thought it was time for some desert before I headed in for some more writing.

"I'm going to get more of that sweet Southern Pecan Pie." I said standing up from the table.

Jon followed suit. "Believe me, I'm not missing out on Ms. Patricia's pecan pie."

I waddled myself up to the buffet table, Jon on my heels. Although he could out step me with his long legs, he beat me there but never missing the chance to poke me in the ribs.

"Jon Good!" I yelped, but ended up laughing.

"If you hate it then why are you laughing?"

"I'm nearly six months pregnant, my mood changes like the tides." I responded.

Off behind me I heard Jess yell out. "That's the worse part of being a mother, Annie!"

And I didn't want to admit it but his butt looked good in those slacks. I noticed that he walked he sometimes swayed, like a super model on a cat walk. But that was mainly when he was showing off.

We stood at the desert table and looked at it. There was only one slice of whipped creme pecan pie and I wanted it. Spencer wanted it. Unfortunately Jon wanted that piece as well.

"Oh no." Jon grabbed my wrist as I took the pie tin. "I want it as much as you do."

"You dare deny a pregnant woman her cravings?" I asked looking up at him.

He gave me a lopsided grin. "There is going to be no debate. You already had your three pieces, I want my one."

"Women and Children first, Jon."

"Oh Annie, don't bring the kid into this."

"He's the one that wants it."

From over my shoulder I could see people taking out their cell phones. Maybe it was so they could prove that it was going to get a lot messy at the dinner table. But at that moment, my main focus was of Jon and his hand on my pie.

"Give me the pie, Princess."

And I had the biggest idea of the day. Jon was this guy, Dean Ambrose, and he didn't give up on anything. I knew that. I had seen it. So I was going to give it to him.

"Fine, you want this pie so darn much, I am willing to give it to you."

I had to use both of my hands and I shoved it up into the side of Jon's face. At which point the majority of the people there busted out laughing. Even I was laughing and it was great to see the shocked look on his face.

"What? You said you wanted it."

And before I knew what was coming, he picked up a pumpkin pie, which I hated, and promptly dumped it on my head. My hair was filled with pumpkin pie and whipped creme and Jon was the loudest laughing of the bunch as I felt the chill of the whipped creme dribbling down my ears and in the back of my neck. And the roar of everyone around us

"That's payback, Princess." Jon said scraping the creme off of my cheek before sucking on his fingers. "And it tastes so sweet too."

"I hate pumpkin pie. At least you could have hit me with the Banana Creme."

He shrugged. Jon opened his mouth to say something but he didn't. What he did happened when I was trying to get the pumpkin filling out of my hair, he lifted my chin up to look at him. And then he kissed me. Right there in front of everyone and their cousin in that back yard. The kisses we did share was always out of the reach of people's eyes, in seclusion. But now it was being shared for all of the family to see, record and photograph.

"Talk about going for sloppy seconds." I heard Brandon say.

He was up on the deck, where the rest of buffet table of Thanksgiving food was located. He looked proud of himself.

"Brandon!" Vanessa was over by Patricia, and she was looking at her husband in morbid shock, unlike the anger from some of the other family members. Especially Solofa, and Matt, and even Joe. Dwayne was already on his feet ready to step in.

Thank goodness Tera didn't understand what was being said.

"At least he's better looking than your sorry face." I responded, turning around to grab a few napkins.

I didn't know what to do when Brandon grabbed my arm. It didn't hurt, but it caused me to jerk my arm from him, only to grab onto the table when I started to feel like I was going to fall over.

Jon, being right there took that offense but I held him back with a hand placed on his chest. I decided to stand my ground, I was going to tell Brandon exactly what was what.

"You're surrounded by wrestlers, Brandon. By men who will die for their women, for their children. So if you want to leave on your own two feet, don't you ever touch me again. As far as I am concerned, the only people I allowed to touch me are my family and Jon."

I took Jon's hand and pulled him into the house so that we could wash ourselves up.

* * *

><p>Some time later, much later as it was drawing onto night, I was back at my post near the door. I was seeing people out. I was now giving hugs, to cousins, aunts, uncles, my niece. It was a good time for me. After the minor food fight, and the verbal backlash I had given to Brandon, it seemed like everyone was proud of it. Well, everyone except for Brandon.<p>

Vanessa started to follow him out of the front door when she stopped me. "Annella, I," she started to say. "I wanted to talk to you." Brandon stopped when hearing his wife say that.

"I don't think we have anything to talk about." I remarked.

"But I do. How did you end up with Jon?" She insisted.

"I didn't end up with Jon. We are working on whatever it is we have going on. But I know it was you that ditched my laptop out in the garbage."

"That wasn't me, I swear. I've grown up, Annella. That was Brandon." She looked back at her husband who was glaring at me. "I think he saw you, you had everything going on and…" Yeah, can someone say Pathetic.

I put my hand up. "Look, Vanessa, I don't know what's going on with you. The last that I heard there was a lot of issues going on around here. Jon and I, as weird as our relationship has gotten, I like it. I'm healing over loosing my fiance, of loosing Sketch. And Jon, though it was hard at first I am starting to learn to like him for how different he is from me." She looked hurt, good maybe now she would listen.

"I figured you and Jon were together, that you were having his baby."

"Why would your mother try to get a hold of you for the funeral then? Talk more with your mother, our mother. I've had my ups and downs in this family, I've had a gun pointed at my face in this house. I have a woman that is out there with every intention of trying to kill me and my unborn child. I am so close to loosing my baby with all the stress going on that maybe it is best that if you decide to come around more often, be on your good behavior. I don't need any more drama. Have a nice trip back to Jackson." I turned and walked back in the house, closing the door behind me.

At which point I decided that maybe some time in my bedroom would be good since she was the last to leave, her and Brandon both.

* * *

><p>It was some time later, it was going onto nearly ten o'clock at night. The house had quieted down. The families had gone off and it was just Patricia, Sika, Jon and me in the house. I was in my room tapping out a part of the novel that needed to be worked on. Patricia and Sika were cleaning up, Jon was in Joe's old room getting his stuff packed because he had to head out and get to a show.<p>

"Hey, Princess?" I looked up as Jon leaned in the doorway. "Let's go out."

"Now? Jon, it's dark." I said.

He actually came up to my desk and shut the screen to my laptop. "Well, tough, Princess. I want to do something special with you tonight and right now is as good as any."

I sighed. "Fine, fine. Let me go grab my jacket."

I had changed out of my nicer cloths soon after Jon and I had that sort of mini food fight. Patricia came into the kitchen to see if we needed help and I was cleaning off Jon's face with a wet cloth. Those were the memories that I was going to keep for the rest of my life. These were the memories I was going to be telling my son for the rest of his life.

"I still think I got pecan filling in my hair." Jon said as we walked out to the beach again.

The beach at night was a whole lot different than during the day. It was dark, but the lights from the houses were blocked by the high dunes. I could actually see the stars for once.

"Well it wasn't very good fun getting pumpkin filling up my nose." I retorted.

"But you still looked cute. With whip creme in your hair. It brought out your eyes." Jon stopped me.

I looked up at him and he leaned down. I knew he was going to kiss me, I knew it. Spencer knew it too apparently. And I welcomed it.

We parted shortly after, and with a sigh of contentment, I put my hand on my belly and looked at Jon.

"I like it when you do that." I said out of nowhere.

"Yeah, me kissing you?"

"Hmm, it seems so unlike you. I mean before, it was different. There was shock when you kissed me for the first time. This time, well I can't explain it It just felt good."

He changed the subject. "Are you still getting over Sketch?"

"Sketch was there for a majority of my life, we had plans to make this the rest of our lives." I motioned to my stomach. "I don't know if I can ever not love him."

Jon nodded. "But what do you think about me?"

"At first it was hard to get to know you when you were all kinds of prickish to me."

"I was a prick, wasn't I?"

"But I see you differently now. A kind of different that I like, a lot."

That brought me back to when he and Colby came in at the right time to stop Sarah from killing me. He told her that he liked me, a lot.

"Yes, I do like you a lot." He put his arm around me. "I want to make something of this."

"But that's where I am confused. Is it too soon, with Sketch being gone? Is it too soon to move on with another relationship." I reached up and rubbed his forearm.

"I can't answer that, Annie."

When Jon said my name like that, I always heard the emotion in it. Princess was just his pet name for me, but when he said my name, when he said Annie, it made me stop and listen to him.

"I never lost someone that I loved, not that I loved much of anything other than wrestling in my life. I never loved anyone. And you and me barely know each other."

"That's where I'm hung up on. Do we take it slowly, no rushing into something and declaring ourselves a couple because then it would be hard to get out of it."

"With your family supporting you, I'm surprised no one has threatened bodily harm against me if I hurt you. Aside from my prickish ways at the beginning."

We were at that crossroads, where we didn't know what was going to happen. But Jon was there, along with me, willing to try this road we were on.

The stars were bright, I could see the moon bouncing off the rolling waters as we sat on that large tree log on the beach. Jon never did stop holding my hand as I leaned my head on his shoulder. He was so warm, he was so strong just to be willing to take on me and a baby.

"I'm not asking this because I think you and me will be together further along the line, but where do you stand with me being pregnant with another man's child?"

He shrugged. "I haven't really thought about it." He then looked at me. "Do you want me to be there when you have him?"

I nodded at first but stopped myself. "Let's wait and see if we are still together by then. I still have a few more months to go."

"Okay." Jon whispered.

We continued to watch the ocean, the stars and everything in silence.

I knew I wasn't going to forget that Thanksgiving, because Jon was there.

* * *

><p><strong>Well that's the last part of Thanksgiving. But there is more to come, I promise. So hold on, another update is coming up soon.<strong>


	17. Chapter 16: Secrets and Santa's Village

**Secrets and Santa's Village**

With Thanksgiving over and Jon having to go back on the road soon after that holiday, he spent a lot of time at the Anoa'i house. Jon got to know my life here back when I was sixteen.

"She was like the most gorgeous one at the party." Sandy said as she was showing off the pictures of the Winter Solstice dance that we attended to. "Do you still have the crown?"

"Yeah somewhere. I've kept most of my stuff from that year in boxes and tubs at the storage locker." I answered as Jon sat with his arm around my shoulders.

"Wow, you were a babe." Jon said, then quickly added. "Not that you aren't now."

That was when my phone went off, which turned out to be a text message. Matt.

I laughed. "Matt just secured the permit for the restaurant in Pensacola. He's closer to moving down here." I told everyone.

"Great. You'll be closer to him." Sandy smiled. "Didn't you and him just meet for the first time this year?"

"Yeah, and he's the sweetest guy, like most of the men in that family is."

Off in the distance, from the back of the house, there was a slight wail.

Kevin stood up. "That would be Antoinette. She's just getting up from her nap. Do either of you want to hold her?"

"Uh, I'm not sure." Jon said, I could tell he was glancing at me.

"Sure, I have to practice before I actually have Spencer." I smiled reaching up and grabbing his hand.

Jon and I had been invited out to Tampa to spend some time with Sandy and Kevin. This was just before Jon had to go back on the road for a Monday Night Raw show. And it was the best thing that we could have done. It felt like I hadn't spent enough time with my childhood best friend.

"What are you doing for your birthday?" Sandy asked Jon. "Isn't this Sunday your birthday?"

It was only the second of December. The rush of Christmas shopping was under way and I still didn't know who all was going to be there for Christmas. Ever since I had left, it seemed like the extended family didn't always come around for the Holidays. The Twins, Dwayne tried to get his little family to go to the Anoa'i house for Christmas. But Vanessa, no I didn't want to think about that.

"Your birthday?" I looked at Jon. "You never mentioned when your birthday was."

"It's not really anything special for me." He shrugged. "Growing up it was never a big deal."

"Neither was mine, but I always tried to make the best of it. And mine is the day after Christmas." I responded. "What do you want for your birthday?"

He shrugged. "I don't really care for gifts."

I patted his knee then squeezed it. "Well I want to think of something for you." I said as Kevin walked back in with his ten month old daughter in his arms. "Hey you."

Antoinette had Sandy's hair, but Kevin's eyes. She looked at me and I couldn't help but smile.

She was put on the couch next to me, since she was being active and Sandy didn't want her to kick my stomach. That meant she was sitting between Jon and me. She clapped, she giggled and cooed. I ran my hand over her head and she looked at me but then her head turned to look at Jon. He'd been wearing his leather jacket and apparently that felt different to her hands. She would reach over and get a small handful of leather material since it was the sleeve she was looking at.

"She loves different textures." Sandy said.

The little girl pulled herself up using Jon's jacket looking at him. I had to put my hand at her back so she wouldn't fall over. And Jon, well he was smiling, like he was actually happy about it. Sure, a baby still has issues with controlling their hands and salvatory glands so it was no wonder when Antoinette leaned forward and latched onto Jon's sleeve with her mouth.

"And don't forget, they chew on everything." Kevin warned Jon.

Antoinette looked at her daddy when he spoke and gave the biggest smile before nearly falling off the couch to get to him. Jon caught her and handed her off to Kevin like a plane, at which point she was laughing over that.

"You're a natural, Jon." Sandy said.

"Think about what it will be like raising a boy." Kevin added puting Ann in her playpen.

"Wait until the little boys try to follow her around the playground." Jon retorted pointing to Antoinette.

I laughed, holding my stomach not in pain but so that I don't pee myself. When I calmed down I took a breath. "We don't really know what to when Spencer's born." I finally said.

"We're not looking into the future, we're living in the now." Jon could get philosophical at times. "I mean, I care about Annie, I am over the moon with Spencer when he seems to respond to me being around. But it's still a little too earlier for us to plan our future together."

"And then there's wrestling." I added.

"What about wrestling?" Jon looked at me.

"I am not letting my son get involved with it. After eighteen that's his doing. But before, no." I looked at Jon. "I know for a fact," I looked at Sandy as I leaned on the armrest of the couch with my elbow, "that come when he is seven years old, him, Colby and Joe along with as many cousins and uncles and the likes are going to get him involved in watching the WWE."

"Is that a bad thing?" Jon asked.

I learned to glare at him with a side glance. "I swear, you bring him to a ring I am going to rip something off and hold it hostage."

"That's what Sandy threatened me when she was giving birth to Antoinette." Kevin pointed to Sandy as he was laughing at the same time.

"I just don't want him missing out in life. There is more to sports than just wrestling."

"And I get that, Princess." Jon rubbed my knee. "I wouldn't want him to drop out of high school just because he wants to go into wrestling."

Well, that was a good thing. Jon wouldn't want Spencer to to follow in his footsteps at least.

"And I want him to go to college." He added. "To have something to fall back on."

Now I knew it was going to be hard when Jon were to walk out on my life. If he were to walk out at least.

* * *

><p>With living in Tampa, it was a long drive back to Pensacola. Jon wanted me to spend some time with me before he had to go on the road. It was dark when we got back home, but it was not late.<p>

"Jon, where are we going? I thought we were going back to Ma's place."

He had turned off the highway at a point that I didn't recognize. It was the southern side of Pensacola and there wasn't anything that I recognized around here.

"We are, but we're taking a detour."

"Detour?" I asked.

"I'm trying to make us moments. As an insensitive man, I don't care for memories. I don't do crap like this. But," he held up his hand when I started to speak. "I want to do these things with you. I never did this with anyone else, none of my exes, except for one."

"Vanessa?"

"No, a girl I dated back in my indy wrestling days. She was a lot like you. Was going to college and had this dog that never shut up. So I shot it, because she was not getting enough sleep." And he said it in the most mundane kind of way, like it was normal for him.

"You, you shot a dog? Because it was making too much noise?" I asked pulling my hand from his.

Now I was scared. He'd done something like that to an animal that probably didn't know any better? I physically found myself moving away from him.

"Babe, look." He eased over to the side of the road and parked the car. "I want you to know that back then I was different. Not like I am now."

Maybe it was the way I was looking at him that gave him the face that I saw on him. Remorse? Embarrassment? He didn't look like he was happy about it.

"I have grown up."

"That's what Vanessa said at the front door when I was seeing them out on Thanksgiving. Blamed Brandon for putting my laptop out in the garage."

"Okay, maybe I should have said that what I play on television is what I usually did back then in real life. I spoke a lot in my indy days, sometimes fibbing about my childhood but I always kept a grain of truth. Shooting a dog was the truth only because I thought I was doing the right thing. Shortly after that we broke up because of it. I have not hurt another animal since then."

I was still scared of him.

"I've been guarded, I have been hurt by bad people, Jon." I looked away from him because I was that afraid. "I was starved nearly to death, I was really and extremely skinny by the time I got to the Anoa'i family. After a month I had gained weight because of all the food I was eating with them. They, most of them, cared for me. They were the ones that I could trust because they never were the kind to hurt someone."

He gave me time to compose myself. Good because I was about to admite something that had not really been discussed before.

"I was sexually molested in one home." I finally admitted it. "I was about ten when it started."

I could see Jon's reflection in the window and it didn't look sad, shock or anything that someone would think a normal person would. No, I saw the rage, the intense rage in his face. The ways his brows furrowed, the ducking up his chin and looking with intense blue eyes. It gave his Lunatic Fringe persona meaning to me at that moment.

"He would call me Sunshine every time he'd, well you know. And then he would threaten me that if I were to tell anyone then he would kill me. No a very merry Christmas story but it happened Christmas morning the first time. I hide the memories, and while my intimate life with Sketch was healthy, it was never Christmas when we did it. Because it would remind me of that day."

Jon didn't touch me, maybe because he knew I would just pull away. I mean, I was a girl that had issues but I never carried any of them. I had never let them make my life, I made it. I just needed that moment to admit something that I neglected to tell anyone.

"Sketch didn't know." I admitted, taking a chance to look at Jon. "He was my first, he was the one that made me feel like I was a queen when making love. He made me feel beautiful, he showed me that it could bring out the best in myself, not feeling shamed about it in any way."

The man behind the wheel still looked like he was about ready to go find the guy that did this.

"I didn't, I hadn't told anyone about that. Not even my case manager. It was my pain to bear. But I had started running away, causing minor problems so I wouldn't go back to that house. It got me to a nicer home and when my time was up there I would go to a new place. Finally when I was nearly starved to death people took notice."

"Why wouldn't you ever tell Sketch this?"

I shrugged. "I mean, yes, I loved him. I loved him with all my heart. But I guess it was foolish that I wanted him to see me as a strong woman, not a victim. I wanted to be the victor and not a victim."

"I don't think he would see you like that, Annella."

I choked on a sob, because at my weakest point Annella was the only thing that could make me break down. Sketch used it countless times when I was having a crisis of conscious.

"But I would." I continued.

Jon shook his head. "You're not."

Then he grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me towards him. He didn't kiss me on the mouth, he kissed me on the forehead and moved so that I wasn't being dragged across the front of the car and he pulled me up against his side. He let me cry on his shoulder. My body shook, it felt like I was feeling all the anguish all over again. But now it felt like a different anguish. It felt like I was not alone in my pain.

"Annie," he sighed. "You're stronger than I would ever been in that situation, if it happened to me."

How could I be stronger than him when he was the one that was always holding my head above water.

I lifted up my head to look at him but something from just behind his shoulder, at his side of the car, caught my attention.

"Jon." I said in a shaky voice.

He looked at what I had seen.

Florida had no snow, so why was there a reindeer standing at Jon's open window looking at us? No, seriously, there was a freaking reindeer looking at us. With bells around it's neck that jingled every time it moved. What was weird, we didn't even hear it walk up to us. I mean, bells on it's neck, we would have heard it right?

"Ho, Ho, Ho," some man said walking towards the headlights of our car.

"Jon." I wasn't sure if it was a question or a scared moment as the reindeer turned to look at the strange man.

"I think I know what's going on." Jon finally said as a man, and I'm not kidding, walked up looking like Santa Claus in overalls and muck boots.

"What?" I asked.

But he didn't answer as the man stepped between the reindeer and the car, leaning down to look at the both of us huddled on my side of the front seat.

"Oh, you must be the gentleman that requested I stay open." He said.

"Nick, right?" Jon asked scooting back over to the drivers seat.

"That be me. I was just getting Dasher here. He likes wondering away from Santa's Village."

"Santa's Village?"

Nick, if that was his name, dipped his head to look at me. "Oh, you must be the lucky lady. Come on out, the Village isn't that far away. I guess it is a wonder that Dasher found the both of you."

Just like a story, just like one of those stories and Hallmark Christmas movies. This was too good to be true.

"Come on, Princess." Jon said when Nick and Dasher moved away from the car.

What else could I do? I got out of the car and moved to the middle of the street. With lead in hand, Nick and reindeer walked down the road as if they owned it. No wonder why none of the reindeer was called Strutter, Prancer looked like he could care less that there were cars all over the place.

"Ready Princess?" Jon asked as he offered me his arm.

How could I say no?

The Village was set into a beach parking lot. There were lights and Christmas trees and eight other reindeer were in a fenced off section. There was a large sled set up near a gingerbread looking out with blowup snowmen at either side of the front door.

"Cute, isn't it?" Jon asked. "This place is hoppin' around here. But it's only open during the first week of December."

"I don't remember this being around twelve years ago." I said. And I was sure I would have remembered it if I did.

"Oh," Nick said as he herded Dasher into the corral. "It is a new thing. I just started it this year. I have a farm up north."

Uh huh.

With all the drama that I was going through, all I needed was a guy that looked like Santa Claus who owns a reindeer farm up North. And that meant what? I wasn't not buying into all of that.

"Come on," Jon smirked.

And then there was the happy Jon. It was kind of scary to be around the happy Jon.

He tugged me over to the large sleigh, where he helped get me up in the seat. As were were getting in place on the sleigh, Nick appeared with a camera in his hand.

"Say Jingle Bells." He said and right when we were just trying to get settled he took a picture.

"We're not ready." I laughed as Jon poked me in the ribs. "Jon, stop it."

"Make me," he responded plopping himself down next to me.

After a few rounds of pictures and laughing, even kissing for some of them Nick declared that he would send the pictures to my house.

Jon guided me over to the reindeer.

"Has Perry Miser met Santa and his reindeer?" Jon asked.

"No, I don't think he has." I said leaning on the fence to look at the nine reindeer. "I thought they were caribou, reindeer are actually caribou."

Jon shrugged. "I don't know an elk from a white tail." He smirked. "Are you going to continue writing Perry Miser?"

"I know I will always be his writer."

"I really liked your first book, the one where Perry is put into the Miser home. Do you know why I liked that one the most?"

I looked at him as one of the reindeer came up to smell my hand. "Why?"

He smiled. "That was the foster home that I went in to for two months. They were an old couple who were Jewish, but they didn't have the same names, and it was around Christmas when I went to stay with them. They treated me like I was their kid. The pictures in the book, well they looked like the same upper class neighborhood where they had lived, in Cincinnati. That was my best Christmas."

"Dean Ambrose reads Children's books?"

He laughed. "When I saw that this place was closing for the season I jumped at the chance to ask Nick for our special night." Jon leaned his head down and smiled at me.

This was our special night. This was going to be a date that I would never forget.

* * *

><p><strong>I have to admit, this was the best chapter I have written as of yet in this story. I like that Annie and Jon are opening up about themselves to each other. Do you feel the same.<strong>

**Until next time, more updates to come.**


	18. Chapter 17: When Bullet Meets Glass

**When Bullet Meets Glass**

**December 6th, 2014**

What should I get Jon for his birthday? That was the question that plagued me.

He was off doing stuff that I didn't know what. He'd left shortly after my Santa's Village surprise. Not only that, other strange things were going on not only with him but with Joe and Jess, even some others in my family were being slightly secretive. Dwayne for one.

But I knew the reason for Joe and Jess leaving, they were gone because Joe was getting better and the WWE wanted him to do some promotional things with the company before they allowed him to come back all together. So Tera was staying with Patricia, Sika and me.

"I want to get Jon something for his birthday." I said as I walked into the kitchen.

Patricia was just pulling out a tray of cookies when I said that. Tera was there helping Patricia, or at least sampling some of the batter from the bowl.

"Do you know what you want to get him?"

"Not a clue. But I also need to go out and start getting gifts for some people. Isn't Dwayne and his family spending Christmas with us?"

"I understand getting children gifts but I'm not sure about the adults."

I shrugged. "I'll think about it. But right now I want to get Jon his birthday gift. I want his birthday to be special. He mentioned that his birthday is never special. And since he's coming in tomorrow before going to those shows in Georgia, I thought it would be a good thing, you know."

"I see your point about the birthday. Okay, let me clean up in here and then we can head out."

"I was just going to ask you for your car. There's no need for you to stop what you're doing." I told her.

She smiled at me. "Sweetie, you need to know something. Ever since Thanksgiving, Tera has wanted to do that donation thing for the foster kids. She even has a list of a few kids that want something this year. All we have to do is drop them off at a Wells Fargo bank in down town Pensacola. So let's have a girl's day out together. You do for Jon and we'll do for foster kids."

I looked at my niece and smiled. "Are you sure you want to do that, sweetie?"

She nodded. "I do, Auntie Nella. I want to help out the less fortunate, I said that word right, didn't I?"

A six year old who wanted to do for other people. In this day and age, that wasn't always the case. But if she wanted to do that, do for foster kids, then who was I to say no to that.

"Okay, I think we can do that today. I mean it's only one o'clock in the evening, what could happen today?"

Looking back on it, I wished I hadn't said that at all.

Hours later we were finished doing what we needed to do and I was still no closer to finding a gift for Jon. But shopping with Tera was fun. Her and Patricia were both great to be around. The last time I went shopping for anyone in this family was by myself, twelve years ago. It was one of those times, even if it was so close to Christmas time, that having family around was so fun. And it was even more interesting when several children realized who I was, I was the lady on the back of the Perry Miser books.

The toy store in the local mall was where I had been seen. Luckily I wasn't shopping with any WWE superstars that I knew. Now that everyone had to go home, go back to work, it seemed like everything was falling into place.

"When is Matt moving all the way down here?" I asked as we were unloading things from the car. Well, Patricia unloaded most of the heavy stuff. Tera was still in her booster seat.

We were at a local place where donations for local foster kids were going on. Tera was in the car and it was just me and Patricia outside of the car.

"I don't know." Patricia answered. "He's hoping some time at the beginning of next year or a week if everything goes great. He's also thinking about opening a restaurant. Grandma left him some cooking recipes that he wants to try out."

The attendants at the Foster Children's Toy Drive came out to help unload our car. Good, my back was hurting and my feet were growling at me. No, wait, that was my stomach.

"So anyway," Patricia said as we were turning to get back in the car. "Oh no."

"What?" I asked as I followed her gaze.

There was a figure standing a few parking spaces away, but there was no doubt who it was. It was Sarah, and she still hadn't changed cloths since the last time I saw her pointing that gun at me. But she wasn't walking over to us.

"I'm calling the cops." I said.

"No, don't." I looked at Patricia. "Get in the car, we need to get you out of here and fast. For Tera's sake."

I nodded and opened my side of the car, which wasn't the side where Sarah was looking from.

We got in, and in the calmest of voices I said. "Tera, sweetie," I turned to look at her. "We're going home now." I said smiling at her.

She was strapped in her booster seat and she smiled at me. "Okay, Auntie Nella."

Patricia started pulling out of the parking space. She didn't look frantic, as I did at that moment. I felt grief, sadness, anger and a whole host of other feelings in my chest, squeezing around my heart as I tried getting my seat belt on over my belly.

What happened next was shocking still. From Patricia's side of the car, her window shattered. It also happened to be the side of the car that Tera was located in. The bullet went through Patricia's side window and then out mine, shattering it. That's when Patricia floored the car, and I could hear Tera freaking out in the back seat.

"Hello, I need police assistance at the Wells Fargo on Rodeo Drive in downtown Pensacola, Florida. I'm Annella Grange and I have just been shot at by the woman that killed my fiance."

I couldn't believe I said all of that in the calmest of tones.

Patricia pulled out of the parking lot but she didn't run from the scene. There was a coffee shop in a shopping center just across from the bank's parking lot. That meant that we could go over there and jump out and head into the coffee shop. That's exactly what Patricia did.

"I don't think we're hurt. There's shattered glass around, I don't know if my niece is hurt but her window wasn't shot. I only heard one gun shot. We're pulling into a parking lot right now. The Starbucks on the other side of the street from Wells Fargo, yes that's right."

I jumped out of the car and got to Tera's side of the car as fast as I could. I opened the door and looked at her. She was still crying but I instantly unbuckled her and then stopped to see if Sarah was around anywhere.

"Oh crap, she's walking across the street."

I took Tera's hand and looked at Patricia as she managed to get out of the car. No blood, that's good. She looked startled.

"Ma, take Tera." I said handing her to Patricia. "Get in the store."

We ran in, I was still on the phone.

"Help please, lock the door. There's a woman with a gun out there."  
>And just as I said it, the front window splintered but did not break. The glass was thick, it created a snowflake pattern where the bullet had hit the glass. There were only about six people, six patrons and four employees at the coffee shop. One of the employees ran and locked the front door. Other patrons stayed under their tables while Patricia took Tera to the bathroom to be safe back there.<p>

I stayed in the main part of the coffee shop. I still could make out that Sarah was out there, but she was pacing. Several of the employees were also on the phone to 9 1 1. They were also acting in a calm manner. If they freaked out then the patrons wouldn't freak out.

"Yes, she's outside, but she's pacing right now." I relayed to the operator I was with. "She'd fired one shot into the store's window but it didn't break. I think she's having a fight with herself."

I ducked down by one of the tables when Sarah turned to look at the store. Off in the distance I could hear the police sirens. But when I stood up to look out of the window, she was gone. Sarah had disappeared yet again.

Moments later the cops were there, which meant for the time being that I was safe and that Tera and Patricia were also safe.

* * *

><p>Hours later, after being questioned by cops and even the detective on my case, the scene was released so that we could get Tera home. She had cried herself to sleep in Patricia's arms, which made it hard for me to less guilty of what happened.<p>

"Joe's going to hate me." I mumbled.

"He won't hate you."

"Fine then Jess will." I responded. "I put their daughter in danger today."

"You have no control over what that woman does, Annie." Patricia said as I opened the front door. "Just be lucky all we have to do is fix the windows on the car and lucky for you to not end up losing Spencer."

"The doctor did say all the stress was going to be hard on the baby." I said as I closed the door behind us, making sure to lock it.

Sika took Tera from his wife. "I'll go get her settled up in your room, Annie."

"Thanks, Sika." I said. "I'm going out back, I need to call Jon."

"Okay, sweetie. I'm going to help Sika with Tera."

Out on the back porch, I started to realize that my hands were shaking. Even as I brought out my phone I still shook. I had hardly ever called Jon before. I mean, we had only just started, whatever this was we had going on. Before he left he made sure that I had his cell phone number. And it took me a few seconds to actually get to the contact list.

I was hoping that Jon would pick up. I needed him to pick up.

"Hello? Princess, that you?" I heard him say.

"Jon, something bad happened." I said sitting down at the table on the deck.

I heard rustling going on, like he was sitting up in bed. "Annie, what is it. What happened?"

"Ann? What happened?" I heard Colby in the background.

"I, Patricia and I were out doing some shopping and stuff. We were unloading some donation gifts to a local bank and we saw her."

"Her? Sarah?"

"Yes, her. She was standing in the parking lot. We just wanted out of there and then when Patricia was pulling out, Sarah shot at the car. Tera was in the car on Patricia's side. We rushed across the street to a coffee shop and hid out in there. But by the time the cops came she was gone again."

"Babe." Jon said. "Are you hurt? Are you at the hospital?"

"No, no one was hurt. She even shot at the coffee shop. But no, I'm not hurt. I'm just really scared."

"Okay, okay." He tried to soothe me. "Princess, listen to me. I'm coming down tomorrow. Then we'll be heading towards Georgia and a few of those places. The Slammies are this Monday. I'm trying to come up with a reason to stay in Florida with you at least until Christmas."

"Jon, don't give up your job because of me." I said.

"I'm not giving up on anything. I love wrestling as much as I do you. Look, I'll call you in the morning when I get in. I'll take a late flight out and then come see you. We'll spend my birthday together, I promise."

"Okay." I didn't know what else to say to that.

We hung up shortly after that. But there was something else that I was hung up on.

"I love wrestling as much as I do you." He said it, in a round about sort of way.

Did he really mean what he did say? He loved me.

At which point, my only option was to either go to sleep, but I was too hyped up for that. So like any other time I couldn't sleep, I would stay up and write.

* * *

><p>Some time in the middle of the night I woke up to someone shaking my shoulder.<p>

"Auntie Nella? Auntie Nella." I heard the little girl whisper.

I opened my eyes and blinked at her. Tera was standing on the side of my bed. She had her pajamas on and a small teddy bear tucked under her arm.

"Tera? What is it, sweetie."

"I can't sleep." She said looking sad about it. "That Lady shot you."

"She didn't shoot me."

"In my dream she did."

This girl was going to be scarred for life if someone didn't do something.

"Well, dreams are what you want them to be." I said sitting up on my elbow. "I dream about Jon when something scary happens in my dreams."

"You do?" She asked.

"Yep. And I bet your Daddy could do that too. If you see something scary, think about your Daddy being there." I moved over so that she could jump in bed with me. "Come here, Terracotta." I told her.

She did and rested her head on my arm.

"There were a lot of times in my life where I was really scared. I always dreamed bad dreams and I always changed them to what I wanted, not what they wanted. So those dark moments when something was chasing me all I had to do was change it to something that made me happy. Want to know what one of those things were?"

"What?" She looked at me with those big brown eyes of hers.

"Santa." I whispered for dramatic reasons. "I would go to his house in the North Pole and help, because I thought that maybe, just maybe, the elves needed breaks too."

"Really?" She laughed.

"Yeah, really. I would help with wrapping gifts, though some times the wrapping didn't come out right, at all. Then, I would paint things, like rocking horses. Do you want to know my favorite thing?"

"Hmm?" She mumbled before stiffling a yawn.

"I would go out and help prepare the reindeer for the Big Night. I would put on their harnesses, because I was the only one to reach them, since the elves were too little. And they didn't mind any bit. They liked having a kid do their work. Well except for gift wrapping. I'm not so good with that."

I turned over just in time to see my niece fall asleep on my arm. Well, I felt more secure with being in the same bed with someone.

Jon and I hadn't gotten that far, sleeping in the same bed. I felt a little weirded out by that and he would not push the issue. Sure we would recline on the beds at the hotels but never spent the night in the same bed as each other. Jon would go to the other bed if he was tired.

Sleeping in the same bed as Tera was like something that I needed. Her presence managed to calm me down, easing me. It was like having Joe there in one form or another. As stupid as that were to sound, it was always so weird but comforting to think about it. Being close to Tera meant being close to Joe.

I thought back to all the issues. Him trying to placate Jess and her issues with me when she thought that she was loosing Joe to me. Him trying to be that brother figure that needed to be there. And I really didn't know what was going to happen when they were to come to pick up Tera.

"Jess is going to be pissed off at me." I mumbled as I draped my right arm over my eyes.

Really she was. She was going to be so mad at me. She and Joe had gone out to do promotional things with the WWE and had left Tera in Patricia's care. It wouldn't be so surprising if she never let me see Tera again after this.

That was something I didn't want.

* * *

><p><strong>Yeah, what do you guys think? It was good I hope.<strong>

**Well, I hope you don't mind but at this pace the Christmas part of the story is going to be uploaded after Christmas.**


	19. Chapter 18: Some Birthday This Was

**Some Birthday This Was**

I felt a hand on my face. At first I hadn't realized that I was asleep, that I was up in my room asleep. Actually I thought it was Tera who slept in Myritza's old bed. Wait no, that's not right. She was in my bed last night because she had a nightmare.

"Wake up, Princess." I could hear Jon say.

I opened my eyes and was mildly shocked to see him leaning on my headboard, looking down at me with that lopsided grin he was famous for.

"Jon?" I sat up on one elbow. "You're here?"

"Yeah, I'm here," he smiled at me. "I wanted to make sure that you were okay."

I watched as he walked around the side of the bed and then Jon laid down. He put his arm around my shoulder and brought my head to his. He kissed my forehead and rested his head back against the pillows.

"Jon," I half whispered.

"Hmm,"

"I'm sorry your birthday isn't what it should be."

"Don't apologize, Princess." He replied rubbing my wrist with his thumb. "At least I have you here with me."

Well that was a nice thing to say.

We stayed in bed for a while, at least until I was awake enough to get my lazy butt up. And when I did Jon was getting up with me.

"So, what do you want to do today?" I asked as I opened up my dresser.

"Whatever you want, Princess."

"No, that isn't how it works, Jon." I looked at him.

He plopped down at the desk chair, in front of my laptop. But he didn't look at it. Kind of reassuring, because it seemed like anyone else tried to look at my stuff, to look at what I was writing. But Jon didn't do that.

"Then how does it work, Princess." He countered.

I turned and walked up to him. I leaned down as far as my stomach could allow me and looked Jon in the eyes.

"This is your Day, this is your birthday, Jon. You choose what you want to do with it, and with whoever."

Something in his eyes made me back up. It was like all those romance movies, all those novels that I had read throughout my life. It was a change, a shift that wasn't seen but felt. It was enough for me to pull back but Jon was faster than that with me.

"Don't run from me, Princess." He said in a low voice while grasping lightly at my hand. "I've done all the running for the both of us."

I nodded. "But…"

"It's hard to say no, Annie." He pulled me back down.

I had to press my left hand to his thigh to keep from falling on top of him. At which point Jon leaned in and captured me in a kiss. He was a biter, just like his Dean Ambrose character, it meant that he wanted the control that he couldn't get. He couldn't control people, no matter how much he wanted it. He wanted to control the kiss, and I let him.

Grabbing the back of my thighs, Jon pulled me so that I was sitting on his lap, my knees on either side of his hip. To be honest this was the closest I had ever been to him. And it felt good. The thoughts of my life had settled into the back of my mind as I kissed Jon. He even rubbed my belly, getting a responsive kick from Spencer in the process.

"Anywhere that I go today, I want you both to be there with me." Jon said, his forehead pressed against mine, his nose rubbing mine.

I took in a shaky breath. "Okay. I can't say no to you. Not today."

I stood up, readjusting my shirt. Jon watched me intently, his eyes never leaving me. I grabbed some cloths and walked out of the room. I had to change, otherwise I would have regretted what was going through my head at the moment.

When I got back to the bedroom, Jon wasn't there.

"Jon?" I asked walking out of the bedroom.

That's when I heard talking downstairs, from the front room. I heard Jon talking, there was no mistaking that voice. But then I heard others.

"She's fine. Just scared." Jon said.

I saw the front room full of people. No more so than Joe and Jess who were holding their daughter. Cousins Josh and Jonathan were there, with Trinity. Even Colby. When Tera saw me standing on the stairs she smiled, wiggling out of her mother's arms.

"Auntie Nella!" She slid to the floor as I got to the bottom step.

That's a kid for you. She was able to get over something like a shooting and nearly getting shot by a crazed lunatic woman was enough for me to smile.

"Hey, sweetie. You've been up for a while."

"Uh huh. Is Spencer hungry?"

"Well, I think some toast and jam will work just fine. Go as Grandma to help you, okay." I said, smoothing out her hair.

"Okay. Grandma can you help me please?"

Patricia smiled at her then looked at me. "Yeah, sweetie, come on."

And I was soon faced with Joe and Jess, the two people who could judge my life at that moment. I looked at Jon for help but was soon greeted by Trinity, Jonathan's wife.

"Hi, so sorry for not meeting under better circumstances." Trinity said holding her hand out to me. "I'm Jon Fatu's wife."

"Cousin Jon's wife?" When I asked that she nodded. "You play Naomi, right?"

She smiled but brought me into a hug. "Girl you have no idea how many stories I've heard about you from these lug nuts."

I took a deep breath. "I wish it were under better circumstance." I said.

"Better? you endangered my daughter!" Jess's voice raised.

"How? How is any of this her fault?" Joe asked stepping back from her. "This isn't anyone's problem, Jess."

"But she is always screwing things up." She looked at him and then glared at me. "You brought danger to Florida when you decided to move here."

I felt the tightness in my throat return. "You know, I was just going to go out and do shopping on my own. I was going to be the pregnant woman out there alone with a deranged woman who has a gun. You're right. I brought all of this onto your family. But I had no intent on getting Tera hurt. She's my niece."

"You're just the white woman that has no one anymore. I want you out of here. You don't deserve to be here anymore." She seethed at me.

"Jess, stop it." Joe responded, his voice raising.

"That isn't up for you to decide, Jess." Trinity said, as Jonathan put his arm around her shoulder. "This is Patricia's and Sika's home. They can decide if she stays or goes. It's not up to you."

"But my baby is in danger if she stays anywhere near her." Jess busted out into tears.

"Well if you haven't forgotten, Jess, so is Annie's baby." Dwayne said.

What was I better at? Crying. I ran my fingers through my hair and briskly walked towards the kitchen. Sika and Patricia looked up when I came in.

"Sweetie?" Patricia asked.

I didn't want to talk about it. I held up a hand, covered my face with the other one and headed out the door. I felt sick to my stomach and I tried to hold it down. I nearly crashed through the back gate just to get out to the beach. All the while someone was following me.

* * *

><p>I only stopped when I was knee deep into the ocean. Something held me back from trying to get further out. It was the arms around my shoulders and the face that bent in to my head.<p>

"Don't." Jon Good said with his voice mumbled.

"I can't take it any more, Jon. I hurt everyone. I hurt everyone that I care about. I hurt the family by leaving, by not being able to save Sketch." I sobbed, pressing my hands into watery eyes. "I took Tera into danger."

"You didn't know she was going to be there. And from what I heard, you did everything right. You made sure that Patricia and her went to the bathroom, locking themselve in there. And it wasn't just them in trouble, it was those people in the coffee shop." Jon said.

I shook my head. "But I would be the one, not her."

Suddenly Jon had me turn around and he had this gosh awful look on his face. He was angry, he was pissed and I was the cause of it.

"Don't you ever say that again, Annella." It was one thing to hear Princess, even Annie, but he had never once used my given name. "Don't you ever say crap like that ever again, to yourself or in front of me. I won't have that. You have fought your way to the top of everything. You had proved time and again that you can over come everything. Twelve years ago, you were that unwanted girl but you made yourself into someone that someone like me would love to cherish."

I saw a single tear blink out of the corner of Jon's eye. I had never once seen him emotional, he was not the emotional guy. It only made me want to start crying again.

"It took me a long time to realize how special you are, Princess." He said. "Right now, all I want for my birthday is you. You and me, together. Alone."

"Not X Rated, right?"

"Maybe, I don't know." He smiled cheekily as he wiped away my tears with his thumbs. "All I want is you and you only."

"I come as a package now." I said, looking down at my stomach.

"Then bring the kid along, I don't care." Jon said. "Let's go out to eat. Just you and me. Leave all our troubles behind us and forget about it for the evening. You need to calm down, you need to forget about everything."

"Why do you think I've come out here?" I looked at the water that was steadily climbing up my legs. "I think the tide is coming in."

"Yeah. You'll have to change and then we'll leave together."

"Where are we going?"

"I think to eat. Then, who knows. It is my birthday. I get to decide what to do." Jon took my hand and led me out of the water.

Joe was still at the house by the time we got back. Him and Ma were a deep discussion when we got back. Funny, no matter how much I cared for Joe, his intense look at me made me think that he was mad at me two. But apparently Jon caught it differently.

"Hey." He draped an arm around my shoulder. "Are you here to chat about how Annie purposely put Tera in danger?"

"No, actually, I stayed to make sure she was okay. And while you were gone, there was a phone call from the police detectives."

"What did they want?" I found myself asking.

"They found Sarah." Ma supplied for me.

"Dead or alive?" I asked.

"Both. They found her alive but when she started shooting at the cops, she was shot in return. So it's over. The pain is over." Ma said walking towards me.

Over? It's over? Just like that? It's over without someone killed? No that wasn't true, it wouldn't have started if she hadn't killed Sketch in the first place.

"I," I started to say.

"Aren't you happy, Annie?" Joe asked. "Sarah's gone. She can't hurt you anymore."

"None of this would have happened if she hadn't killed Sketch." I said, speaking what was on my mind.

"He gave up his life for you to live. Do you think he would be happy if you were constantly scared, fearing she would be back again, and again?" Jon asked.

"But I would still have him."

That was when something snapped in the room. Tension, or whatever, and it was my fault.

Jon's arm slipped from my shoulders. And without so much of a word he left. Moments after leaving the kitchen I heard the front door slam behind him.

"Oh God what did I do?"

"Come here, Sis." Joe said pulling me into his arms.

I cried into Joe's shoulder, tears soaking his shirt. And while Joe hugged me, Ma was standing with her hand on my shoulder.

"Did I just loose Jon?" I asked.

"No, you didn't loose him." Joe said. "He doesn't understand grief. Remember, he's never lost anyone before in his life. You've lost a lot of people, found more of them and while you were trying to find closure you and him just clicked weirdly."

"But how does that explain why he would walk out?" I pulled back as I looked up at Joe. "I care a lot about Jon, but I don't even know where we stand in all of this. I don't…"

"Do you know what he does when he's on the road? Colby shared this little piece of information when they roomed together. He will take out a picture, the one of you two covered in whipped creme from Thanksgiving and look at it until he's ready to go to sleep. There was another picture, one that neither Colby or me recognizes of anyone taking it."

The cousins came to the doorway of the kitchen to listen. I glanced at them before looking back at Joe.

"It's of a picture of just you. You sitting on the couch, curled up with a book in your hand while the other rests on your belly. Oblivious. That one is on his phone. Colby has seen him staring at the picture for who knows how long. In the locker room, heck even while out eating he'll just pull out his phone and stare at the picture. I don't think I've seen Jon so much in love with someone before, Annie."

That brought more tears to my eyes. I screwed up, it was my fault that I pushed Jon away. Or did I? It's not that I was ungrateful for what was going on, what I had going on with him. But it was hard to move on from loving someone like Sketch to being in a relationship with a guy that was so biohazardly different than I was.

"How do I fix this?" I asked.

"Give him time. I'm sure he'll come back when he's ready." Ma said.

My brother now spoke up. "Unfortunately there is the show tomorrow. He took the car that you guys let him use when he's here." Then he looked down at me. "Think you can put up with a car ride?" Joe asked.

"Why?"

"We can get you to Jon." Colby said from the doorway. "We got here by car. I'm sure we can squeeze you in to the backseat with me. I'm the skinniest one of the bunch." He smiled brightly.

But he got slapped in the head by Cousin Josh, and that actually made me laugh.

As Trinity helped me pack an over night bag up in the room I looked at the picture that had been of Sketch and me together, the one in the frame.

"That Sketch?" She asked looking over my shoulder at the picture.

"Yeah. My fiance. My former fiance." I put it back down on the nightstand. "It's funny, when I'm with Jon I don't miss Sketch that much."

"And you feel guilty about it, right?" I nodded. "Do you think you could ever get over him?"

"Honestly no. I loved Sketch because he and I had so much in common. But Jon, I care for him. No matter if he doesn't care how he looks in public. The one thing that I didn't like Sketch doing was reading my stuff. I mean, yeah, I'm passionate about writing but until it's done I don't like people reading it. Jon, I don't think I've ever seen him anywhere near my laptop."

"And that's why you like him?"

"Not only that. But he worries about me, I see it. And I've seen the emotion in his face when I'm having fits. I also think, as stupid as it may seem, I think Spencer likes Jon. I mean, when Jon's around, when he's touching my stomach, Spencer is always moving kicking at stuff like that. And Jon isn't all that bad looking."

"Girl, when I met my Jon, oh I was head over heels infatuated with him. I didn't even know how to talk to him."

"Yeah?"

"Oh yeah. I mean, after a while when we got to know each other, it became easier, it became a flow. And don't worry, I knew how you two were with each other in the beginning."

"All because everyone kept saying the he and I have stuff in common. But we can't be two more different people. Do you want to know what he wanted to do with me on Thanksgiving?"

"What?"

"He wanted me to teach him how find happiness in the smallest details. And then we got into a pie fight later."

By then I was finished with packing and it was time to go. There was going to be a long drive to Georgia and there was no time to loose.

I needed Jon.

* * *

><p><strong>With it being Christmas Eve, I want to do at least one more update later today. I am not finished with this story but I want to get the Christmas Morning chapter up on Christmas for everyone. <strong>

**So until later today, happy reading.**


	20. Chapter 19: Almost There Again

**Almost There Again**

I woke up to Josh shaking my shoulder. "Annie, we're here."

I had taken to sleeping most of the night to Georgia. Between sleeping on Colby's shoulder and using Josh as a foot rest, I got some sleep in that car. Joe was still not able to wrestle and I didn't want him to leave Jess and Tera just because of me so I made sure that he went home to them.

"Ann?" Colby asked, poking my shoulder.

That was one thing about Colby, the best friend that I started to confide in, he knew how to catch my attention. He liked poking me in the shoulder. So I looked at him.

"Yeah," I answered. "I'm just thinking. Where are we?"

"At the hotel." Trinity said from the front passenger seat. "We'll check in and then get to the arena."

I put my hand on my stomach as I started to sit up in the backseat.

"Spencer if you get any bigger, I won't be able to walk." I mumbled to my unborn baby.

Colby helped me out of the car, mockingly groaning as he did so.

"Make a comment, Rollins, I am going to," I started to say.

"Going to what?"

"I haven't thought that far into the threat. Give me some time to work on it." I responded. "Oh, I know. I'll be the mystery woman who calls your girlfriend."

"You wouldn't."

"Bet I would, Clown Nose." I said grabbing my laptop bag.

Cousin Josh laughed to himself as he got my bags out of the trunk. "You think a lot like Jon, you know. Evil thoughts and all of that."

"I don't think like Jon." I looked at him with a pout.

"At least for a moment there." He replied.

Colby rolled his eyes. "Great what we all need. Another Ambrose around here."

I was put up in my own room. Not that I couldn't afford it. Actually, what happened was that Colby found Jon's room and convinced the hotel manager that I was Dean Ambrose's girfriend and he was expecting me to be there. All the while Cousin Jon and Trinity had a room to themselves. Colby was in a room with Josh. And I would be in Jon's room if and when he came back.

I don't know where he had been since the previous evening but when Jon got back I could tell that he had been out jogging, wearing work out shorts and one of his familiar tank tops. I was sitting on the bed reading a Christmas romance novel I had stashed in my things, curled up slightly with a bunch of pillows behind me.

"What are you doing here?" He asked shutting the door with his foot.

"Fixing something I did wrong." I said putting the book down on the night stand next to my phone. "Realizing that when I'm with you I don't hurt as much as I would have. But hurting you was not what I had intended on doing."  
>I pushed myself off the bed and came to stand in front of Jon.<p>

"Then why did you say that stuff back at the house?"

"I was telling the truth. None of this would have happened if she hadn't shot and killed Sketch." I held my hands up indicating to everything around us, an elaboration for what was going on around us. "But then, if he hadn't died, I would not be with people that cared for me, loved me like a family. Ten to twelve years, Jon. And then soon after his death I find someone on my doorstep that had been constantly making sure if I was okay since then. Getting a mother, a real mother that has loved me through the years. I have brothers and sisters, I have cousins up to my ears and a niece that adores me."

He didn't touch me, he didn't say anything. I wanted to touch him. I wanted to kiss him with everything I had. But most of all, I wanted him to know what it meant to me to have him in my life again.

"And then the hell you and I went through with each other. My gosh. I was up and down with you until that kiss."

"The stairway kiss."

"No, the one that you gave me after Sarah broke into the house. And you're right. I can't think of myself with someone else." I looked him in the eyes, taking one single step towards him. "Sketch, yes I loved him. But he would never want me to live in pain and anguish. But you don't make me feel pain and anguish. Okay at first, I wanted to kick you in the balls constantly and that Halloween stunt was one of those occasions of said ball kicking."

"But…"

"But, there is one thing that scares me about this whole us thing."

"Spencer Joseph." He looked down at my stomach.

"Yeah. I mean, we stay together for a few years, he calls you Daddy and then something was to happen to us and we break up. Or I'm thinking too far ahead, yet again, in the issue."

"Yeah." Jon looked at me.

So there it was. My inner secrets, the feelings I had, what was going on in my head were all out on the table. When Jon didn't say anything, or attempt to talk at all, I sighed. Defeated I turned back to the bed and went to lay back down on it. My back was starting to hurt the longer I stood up.

While I was getting comfortable Jon watched me. As I got comfortable in the bed Jon began undressing, stripping off his work out cloths, kicking off his shoes. I didn't question him as I settled onto my side. Though watching him reach and stretch to take off that tank top caused me to smirk. Bare back, a strong front with abs that were well formed for a man, a real man. He was lean, muscled and lean. I mean, he was lanky, sure but there was the under tone of muscle on him. Even Spencer didn't have that kind of muscle on him when he died.

"What?" He asked looked at me as he stood in just his boxers.

"Just looking." I had been laying on my side and I crossed my arms while hugging a pillow so I propped my head on the pillow and continued to look at him.

He made a noise. Did he just snort at me?

"Is it the hormones talking?" He asked.

"Stating the obvious that so many women think about you."

"And what is it that they think about me, Princess?" He asked.

I shrugged. "Charming. Charming to look at. Maybe X rated fantasies." I smiled. "That isn't going to happen any time soon between us."

"At least not while Spencer is still cooking." Jon ruffled his hair and headed for his suitcase. "How the hell did you get in here?"

"Colby paid off the hotel manager. Saying that I am your girlfriend and you were expecting me."

"Some friend he is."

"He's looking out for the both of us."

"That's what I'm saying. How did you get here?"

"Cousins Josh, Jon and Trinity drove up here with me and Colby. I slept in the back seat with Josh and Colby. Josh the footstool and Colby the head rest."

Pulling out some jeans and one of his many graphic t-shirts, Jon smiled.

We had not touched, we had not kissed. He wasn't ready to forgive me. I knew it. I knew Jon had been hurt in the past. By Vanessa and by his ex girlfriend, he thought that I was still hung up on Sketch. He thought that he was loosing someone again.

"I'm sorry." I said as he was pulling his jeans up.

Jon looked at me.

"I know."

That's Jon for you, I could never understand what was going through his head.

* * *

><p>"Are you going to be okay?" Colby asked me.<p>

I had been to sporting events, but never behind the scenes at said sporting events. Colby found a table near what was called catering, so that way I could be out of the way but still be somewhere that someone could check up on me.

"Yes, now go be the bad guy." I pushed him away while putting down my laptop case on the table.

"Are you sure? I mean I can put you up in the diva's locker room if you want." Trinity offered.

"I said I'm fine, Trin. I am out of the way but I can still get to where I need. Like a bathroom." I said pointing to it just up the hall from the table.

Cousin Jon and Josh had been called off to get ready for their match, which was on first for that night. Colby managed to pull himself away with that gosh awful looking Money in the Bank briefcase so that he could get ready for his part in the show. That left Jon and me alone.

"I'm not on until later. Want me to sit with ya until then?" He asked as he shoved his hands in his leather jacket.

Well that would be a start, I thought as I nodded. "Sure, I'd like that."

I was happy to be off my feet. They were just killing me.

"Something wrong there?"

"Pregnancy pains, my back and feet hurt." I said looking at Jon. "Sandy got a hold of me earlier, she wants to go out show me something while Kevin stays home and cares for Antoinette."

"Are you sure you want to do that?"

"She said something about a surprise. It's a not set in stone surprise, but one that she thinks would be great for me."  
>Sandy and I had been getting in touch with each other periodically, I mean we both had our own separate lives going on. She was a first time mom and her husband was a coach and they were scraping by most of the time.<p>

His hand was resting on the table, just few inches from mine. We hadn't touched, not once. I was used to it now, used to Jon touching me, making sure that I was somewhere near him. His favorite thing had been grasping my thumb and rubbing my nail with his own thumb. A simple touch like that, that was all I really needed. I wanted to know that he was going to let me still be there.

I reached over and put my hand on his, looking at Jon in the process. His eyes were on me and I offered a smile.

Running his thumb over my knuckles, Jon's attention was drawn to the television that was nearby us.

"Look, the show is starting."

I didn't care about the show. I cared about Jon. I cared about us. And he continued holding my hand as he leaned back in the chair and against the table to watch Colby walking out, now in his Seth Rollins character. Jon continued to run his thumb over my knuckles while watching the show.

As the first commercial break came on, this big guy, nearly Santa big, but with a Hawaiian shirt, beard and the scariest face I had ever seen walked up to the table.

"Hey, Larry." Jon said half heartedly.

"Hey to you. This your girl?" He asked looking down at me.

I remembered his name. This man was Bray Wyatt. He was the enemy of Dean Ambrose in the WWE, and they had some sort of a feud going on, a feud that I didn't understand.

"Yeah. Annie, this is Windham Rotunda, we call him Larry because, well it's less complicating if we call him Larry. Larry, Annie Grange."

"Great, I've been meaning to ask you if you could autograph a few of your books for my daughter. She's really gotten interested in your stories and wants them this Christmas." He handed me the three books I've ever created.

"Sure." I smiled, and that was when I decided to let go of Jon's hand so that I could find a pen in my laptop case. "Who should I make it out to?"

He told me her name and asked to pose with the books so he could print the pictures out later. And I did, holding up Perry Miser's Hanukkah book since it was the first in the series.

"Speaking of kids, how is Jon's boy doing?" Larry asked motioning to my stomach. "I know that the kid isn't Jon's but that's just what everyone is saying about the two of you."

"He's doing fine. Seems to get bigger day by day almost." I answered.

Did people really think that Spencer was Jon's boy? I had to stop thinking about my future, or else I wouldn't be able to see what was going on in front of me.

"You should bring her to the Children's Santa Party." Larry suggested. "Joe's going to be there."

"But it's a WWE thing. I'm not involved with the company." I told him.

Jon waved it off. "You'd be with me. And it would give them something to look forward to. And it's only here in Georgia in two days. I get to help with cutting down Christmas trees."

"I'll ask my publishers about donating books for this cause. It's for the Troops right? And Joe is going to be there. My agent has wanted me to be more involved with people."

Maybe I could do this. That would mean I would be in Georgia, away from Pensacola for a while.

"Let me make some calls and I'll get back to you on that." I told them.

"Do that." Jon stood up. "Sorry to jet but Larry and I have to find a secret place and go over out mayhem in the show." He kissed my forehead. "Be back later, Princess."

* * *

><p><strong>Well, I did promise another update for today since it is Christmas Eve. Tomorrow I plan on having another double upload day for you guys. So until then I'll see you later.<strong>

I watched him leave. There was renewed hope in that I was going to get Jon back.


	21. Chapter 20: The Gift of a Name

**Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone! Today I'll be double updating for you guys again so enjoy!**

* * *

><p><strong>The Gift of a Name<strong>

**December 22, 2014**

I had a whirl wind of things to do, some of them with Jon. There was that Tribute to the Troops that happened and I was there through most of the things going on. The kids loved me, pictures and brownies were served for some of the festivities that I had gone to. And what was more, Jon. He had been there for me and I could never tell him how grateful I was for everything.

Could it really be nearing time for Christmas? And something was going on. The family had apparently started doing a lot of stuff in the mean time of me helping with this Tribute to the Troops stuff.

I first noticed it when I was wrapping some gifts on the twenty second of December. I had several things for Tera that I wanted to wrap before she came over. I holed up in the front room because climbing up the stairs was only getting harder. And Spencer was getting bigger. When Jon wasn't working it was like he couldn't ever leave me. But this day, he had gone missing, with Joe, Tera, even Jess. I had tried to get a hold of Sandy but she wasn't picking up the phone.

Just then the front door nearly burst open and in comes a walking Christmas tree. I turned in time to see Matt there, struggling to get the tree in. Following him was Summer, as big as ever and her boyfriend.

"Scott?"

Scott, as in Scott Adams, the kid that always hung out with Joe on the football team?

"Oh, yeah, that's right. You both used to hang out together." Summer smiled rubbing her stomach as she sat on the couch next to me.

"He's the father?" Okay, that sounded rude on my behalf.

"We connected after you left." She said as she watched Scott help Matt with the stand.

"Isn't it funny when you loose someone you find another person there?" Matt asked looking at us before manhandling the tree into the tree stand.

Ma and Sika weren't there. They said they were doing last minute Christmas shopping or something like that. It had been just me in the house that day, Jon had left before I even woke up and who knows what he was doing. So to have Matt, Summer and Scott at the house was like something to look forward to.

"So, who needs a little Christmas?" Matt asked.

"I love that song. Glee played it." Summer said.

"Scott, help me with the Christmas ornaments." My brother said.

While the men went off to the basement, I went back to my wrapping.

"So, how was it? Your time with the guys doing the Tribute to the Troops thing?"

"I was never really on camera, but the kids loved getting books from me. It was a lot of action and I was more than happy to be home. But now that Jon and Joe were given time off from work, Colby I understand he has work to do, but now…." I motioned around. "No one is here. They have been doing something and I want to know what it is."

She smiled lightly before changing the subject. "You know one of the things that I remembered as a little girl, when all of us were around six to ten years old?"

"What?"

"Popcorn garland, we'd pop it, string it and put it on the tree. Then we'd sneak bites in here and there." She tried to get off the couch but her stomach was giving her issues.

I scooted off easily, but it would be soon where I would be in Summer's shoes. "Don't worry, I got you, Sis." I said as I came to stand in front of her and offered her my hands. "Come on."

Summer was a beautiful woman. She still looked very much like the little girl I had seen back twelve years ago. But she was an adult version of herself.

"Pregnant women are not supposed to be lifting heavy things." She told me.

I laughed. "I know but I need you to help me in the kitchen."

Linking our arms together, and then pushing herself up by the arm rest.

"I'm due in January." She said. "Early January."

"Have you put your finger on a name yet for your little girl?"

Summer shrugged. "No not yet. Any suggested names would be great?"

I thought about it as I found some unpopped popcorn seeds out of the pantry. "Well, if she was born on Christmas or even Christmas Eve, I would suggest Noelle."

"I like Noella." She responded pulling out the popcorn maker. "That is such a girly girl name."

"Noella Adams," I mulled it over in my head. "Noella Adams sounds great actually."

"But I need a middle name."

While preparing the popcorn and the popper I squeezed my eyes slightly. I was a writer, I should be good at coming up with names. At least characters were easier to name and come up with than children's names. Well, Spencer Joseph was a name that wasn't that hard. Noella, what?

"Noella Oline Adams." I said.

"Oline?"

"I was talking to Josh and Jon, Trinity and Joe, and they were talking about all the Hawaiian names in the family. I found a baby name website out of pure boredom and found that Oline means Joyous. And since this is Christmas, the most Joyous holiday of the year, it would make a good name. It gives you a chance to keep your Hawaiian heritage alive."

"Scott was just telling me about that, he wanted her to know her heritage when she gets older."

A family of Samoans, yeah that would be great. I mean they accept me, a white girl who had no family. Then there was Jon, who was also accepted by them. This, this was the family that I wanted so bad.

"Baby, where'd you go?" I heard Scott call out as he came from the front room.

"In the kitchen, Scott. Come here, I want to ask you something." She called back.

Scott and Matt came into the kitchen. There was dust on Matt's shoulders and a sparkling of it in his longish hair. He looked like he had greying hair.

"What did you want to ask me?" Scott asked kissing her slightly. "What are you doing?"

"We're making popcorn for the popcorn garland. And I wanted to get your opinion on a name Annie and I came up with for the baby. How does Noella Oline Adams sound?"

"Noella Oline? What does Oline mean?"

"Joyous, it means joyous." Matt said. "And that sounds like a beautiful name to me. I mean, the kid will be your first."

"You thought of it?"

"Well, it's almost Christmas and we were joking about what if she has the baby on Christmas or Christmas Eve. I suggested Noelle at first but she likes Noella better."

"It's a beautiful name, regardless that she's due a week after Christmas. Noella, Ella, that is a perfect name for a little girl. For our little girl." He took her hand in his and then his other went to her large round stomach.

"Well, looks like you inspired this family again, Annie." Matt said coming up to hug my shoulders. "Congrats on naming my niece finally, Summer. Now we can share it with mom and dad when they get back. Where are they anyway?" That question was directed towards me.

I shrugged as I opened the lid to the popcorn cooker. "I don't know. Christmas stuff. I mean, Jon was given this week off so he could spend it with me and I have no idea where he's at. Him, Sandy, Kevin, even Joe, Jess and Tera are no shows saying they have stuff to do. It's been going on ever since coming back from the Tribute to the Troops stuff."

"Maybe it has something to do with…" Matt nudged Scott. "Oh yeah, sorry. Maybe it's just a Christmas thing.

* * *

><p>I felt the bed shift. Bed, no that couldn't be right. I felt myself being pulled up into a sitting position and then feeling someone kiss the top of my head.<p>

While in the process of waking up I heard Ma speaking. "I can't believe she did all of this."

Matt laughed. "It was her idea to put up the popcorn garland."

"Not that, Noella's name." Sika responded.

"Shut up, I'm trying to sleep." I mumbled feeling myself loose to the feeling of sleep.

When I heard Jon laugh I jerk my head up. Apparently he liked scaring the crap out of me every chance he got.

"What time is it?" I asked trying to sit up.

"Just about midnight, Princess. I dropped Joe and his girls off at their place before coming here."

I turned to look at him. "And where have you been, dufus?" I punctuated that question with a slight slap to his arm.

"I've been doing Christmas stuff, Babe." He responded, kissing my head. "Come on, let's go to bed."

I was too tired to say anything snidely. Jon was known to laugh at my failed attempts at trying to make jabs at him. If I had said something, anything, I would laugh when he would poke me in the ribs.

"How's the kid doing?" Jon asked rubbing my belly.

"Less active today, surprisingly with how much popcorn Summer and I consumed while making the popcorn garland." I responded.

Of course Jon laughed at something in that sentence.

I just wanted to sleep so I just ended up falling on my bed with my sweat pants and one of Jon's tees on. I was enjoying the feeling of the soft blankets, the quilts and the hum of the air conditioner. I was surprised at how relaxed I could be, I could have fallen asleep just like that without a care in the world.

"Uh huh, Princess, you're not sleeping like that." Jon leaned over me and grabbed my hands.

"Go away, Jon. I want to sleep like this." I said.

I opened my eyes when I felt him lean down over my face and a puff of his hot breath tickled my nose.

"Wake up, Annie." He mumbled before kissing me.

I groaned into that kiss, but not for the reason some would think. I wanted him to leave me alone and let me sleep.

"Nope, come on, get under the covers." He tugged on my hands to indicate to get me up.

I groaned again, feeling myself get to my feet. I watched Jon pull back the covers and then deposited me in there. As I was snuggling into my covers, I looked at Jon as he stripped himself to his boxers. Even with his fuzzy beard, the one that he hadn't tended to in a couple of days, he smiled all the while. Thinking of what, I didn't want to know actually.

"Jon," I said as he was preparing to get into the other bed in the room.

"Yeah, Princess?" He looked over his bare shoulder at me.

"Wanna sleep over here." I asked patting the bed with slight emphasis on the matter.

And he smiled. I watched him walk over to my bed, around to the other side and I felt him slide in behind me. This would be the first night we'd share a bed together, and not for X Rated business. I wasn't planning on that until after Spencer came.

"What do you want to do tomorrow, well today actually?" Jon asked as he lay on his back.

I shrugged, facing away from him.

Okay, so maybe this wasn't the first time he and I had shared a bed together. I remembered that night back in Oakland the one where he snuck his way into my bed in the middle of the night. That was a surprise I was not expecting to find. And he acted like it was a perfect thing to do.

"Can I ask you something, Jon?"

"Hmm?"

"What was the real reason for climbing in bed with me during your stay back in Oakland, the night of Halloween?" I asked turning over to look at him.

He turned his head to look at me. I saw that change in his eyes, the unspoken change.

"I wanted to be close to you and still be a prick at the same time." He confessed to me.

Some how, that was the answer I knew he was going to say, in a round about sort of way.

Jon kissed my forehead and then pressed his head to mine. "Go to sleep, Annie." He instructed.

That's just what I decided to do.

* * *

><p><strong>December 23rd, 2014<strong>

The one thing I remembered about that morning was that I woke up alone. This was the twenty third, two more days until Christmas.

The second thing I looked out the window into the backyard and it was like the clouds grew angry and decided to whip up a storm. I jumped when a crack of thunder and a flash of lightning spread out across the beach. But the one thing that I liked was the sound of the rain. I could never give that up, listening to the rain hitting the roof, blowing by the window at night. It was one step closer to having a white Christmas. But this was Florida, no white stuff at all. It was a sub tropical thing.

I decided to get dressed and see what I could do around the house, not that I could do much of anything. I was a fat cow at that time.

Coming down the stairs I looked towards the Christmas tree and saw the beautiful specticle that Matt, Scott, Sandy and I had managed to do.

"Why is it that we always get a late start on decorating the tree each year?" I heard from my right.

I had not talked to Jess in the longest of times. Well not since she practically said I brought death everywhere I went. It was because of the issues I had with Sarah, the troubles that were over and dead, in her case. But I hadn't seen or talked to either Jess or Tera since the day Jon walked out.

"How are you doing?" Jess asked.

"Okay. Spencer hasn't been acting himself. Less moving." I said, rubbing my stomach. "I need to make a doctor's appointment soon. Actually that's what I was going to do. Have you seen Jon?"

"Yeah, he and Joe went out. Patricia and Sika are helping out some people. I offered to stay here. Tera's somewhere." Jess said playing with her fingernails.

I nodded and then thought about something. "I'm really sorry for everything that has happened. I really am."

"I know and I am somewhat to blame. I went from jealous to pissed off at you. I really am trying to accept you, Annie, I really am. And now that I know you and Jon are together happily may I add, it doesn't seem like you're trying to take Joe from me."

"And you're okay with me naming Spencer after Joe, right?"

"Family traditions. I heard that you suggested a name for Summer's baby. It's a really nice thing you did. Noella, maybe in a way, sounds like your name. Oline was a pretty nice touch." She smiled but then it fell. "Brandon and Vanessa are coming here tomorrow. They are staking out Vanessa's old room for Christmas.

"Great," I rolled my eyes with gusto.

She laughed as we headed to the kitchen. "You know, I think she still wants him."

"She has Brandon. She screwed Jon over from what I heard."

"Yeah, she did. Jon's a great guy. Plus he's got a J name, which apparently follows a trend in this family. I think that is one of the reasons why the family like him."

Again, I took that as a joke.

Tera was sitting at the counter drawing. I smiled and snuck up behind her.

"What ya doin'?" I asked peeking over her shoulder.

"Hi Auntie Nella. Don't look, I'm making you a Christmas card."

Well I didn't want to ruin the surprise so I then turned back to Tera. "So, Jess, what is all this Christmas stuff that everyone seems to be doing around here? Everyone is gone all of a sudden."

She shrugged. "I don't really know. I mean, Joe and I are trying to do for Tera this year. And I want to do something special for Joe. What did you do for Jon's birthday?"

"Nothing, because I got him pissed off and wasn't able to give it to him."

"What was it?"

I shook my head. "I'm saving it for him for Christmas because it meant a lot to me. It was something that we both liked actually and he isn't the emotional kind of person."

"That's the truth." That's really the truth.

"Here, Auntie Nella, here's your Christmas card." I turned around at the sound of Tera's little voice.

It was good to have her there as well.

* * *

><p><strong>Well that's update one, update two is going to come later today. So hold your horses, more to come later. <strong>


	22. Chapter 21: A Home For the Holidays

**Christmas Eve**

It was Christmas Eve, and Jon was still missing. It seemed like everyone was disappearing all of a sudden. The only time I would see Jon was at night.

So I stayed up, under the glow of the Christmas Tree watching a movie and writing at the same time. I needed to do something and with no projects, my agent told me that until next year I should take a break. Writing Romance was not the thing I was used to. Until The Christmas Fairy came into being. Fantasy Romance was just as bad. I didn't know anything about fantasy.

"What the hell are you watching?" I looked up to see Jon walking in the house.

Ma and Sika weren't there, of course. And Jon smelt like bleach, strongly like bleach.

"What did you do, kill someone, hide the body and cleaned up after yourself? You smell like bleach." I said looking at him before going back to my document.

There was nothing on the screen. The cursor was blinking at me.

"No, not killed, yet at least. I was having some problems with Joe earlier but we cleared it up." He said as he sat down next to me.

"Really, go put yourself in the shower, you reek, Jon." I shoved him away, holding my nose.

He decided to bring me into a hug. I gagged.

"Don't you love me, Princess?" He asked.

"Jon, I'm going to throw up if you don't get away from me." I said trying to move away from him.

I felt a little kick low in my stomach. What it was I wasn't sure. It didn't hurt it just felt like pressure. I froze, my hand gripping Jon's shirt and I was looking at my laptop screen with shock. Jon also froze, he also lightly took my hand so that I wasn't just gripping his shirt.

"You okay, Babe?" He asked.

"Yeah, just something felt weird in my stomach."

"Is it Spencer?"

I shrugged. "I feel him moving but I don't really know what it is. I've gotten an appointment after Christmas to see why Spencer isn't moving. I mean, he usually likes to move when you're around but that's gotten less too."

Jon leaned back from me and looked at me. "Well, are you tired?"

"No, not really. Not right now. I want to write something right now."

"Okay." Jon kissed my shoulder, scratching me with his slight whiskers. "I'll go get a shower and then come see you."

That was when Jon headed upstairs.

I couldn't really concentrate. I couldn't do much other than just stare at the document screen. With it's blinking cursor thing and it's mocking white background. Really, how hard was it to write something that wasn't Perry Miser or anything associated with Christmas?

**_Her fear was no knowing if the baby was going to be healthy or not. Danielle Lawson was alone in that hospital room, her round stomach bulging from under the hospital blanket._**

_**No one was there, she was lone. The man of her life left her when she told him she was pregnant and he didn't want to be the father. So here she was, about ready to give birth to her first child, a daughter no less, and alone. Even her own mother didn't want to be there to support her.** _

That piece nearly mimicked my life, at least at the beginning. Alone, fearful, yeah it felt like that. And then I found my family. Dwayne, he was the start of it all. Now I had a mother, a real mother, a father that was a father since I didn't know my own biological father. Gained two brothers…

"What are you doing?" I looked up at who had asked that.

Vanessa, Vanessa and Brandon had come through the front door. Ever since they got here for Christmas, we'd been on thin ice. We were dancing around the obvious, Vanessa and I. It was me seeing the guy that she obviously had feelings for while she was married to someone like Brandon.

"Just writing." I answered going back to my laptop. I had also taken it upon myself that if I were to leave the front room, I would bring the laptop with me, even into the kitchen just so I knew where it was at all times. I didn't want to have a repeat of what had happened back at Thanksgiving.

"What are you writing." Brandon actually leaned over the back of the couch to read what I had written.

"It's rude to read over someone's shoulder, you know." I said lowering the lid of my laptop a little. "It's not even anything to work with. I just need to write."

Vanessa looked me over. "So, how are you and Jon doing?"

"Great." I replied. "We're happy together. He's the first guy to ever make me happy, besides Sketch."

"I still find it funny, you being knocked up. Jon Good is acting like he's the father. Everyone is so happy you're back." Brandon sounded sarcastic at that point. "You're worth, what now?"

What was a I worth? "What's that supposed to mean? My monetary worth, net worth, isn't really anyone's business." I looked at him as he came to stand in front of me.

There was another brief tightening feeling in my stomach, very brief that I hadn't really registered that it was there at all.

"Come on, Jon's not stupid idiot. Well actually he is. But what I'm saying is that you're this famous children's author and he's some famous guy that wrestles. I bet he only dates ya because you're pregnant, emotionally unstable and rich."

"He's nothing like you." I snapped the lid of my laptop shut. "In fact he's a better man than you ever will be."

"Like I said the last time I was here, sloppy seconds. I mean, my wife really didn't like him other than as a bed buddy. And he seemed to like that."

He was pushing it, he was pushing every button I had. And I was so close to throwing my laptop at his head.

"He's damaged, Annie." Vanessa said in a calmer voice, like she was sad. "I mean, I told him that I didn't love him. But he grabbed on. He wanted me. He nearly stalked me."

This was not the man that I had fallen for. This wasn't the man that I cared about. He was not the man that they were describing to me.

"You think it's funny don't you?" I asked, feeling something snap in me.

Vanessa looked confused. "What are you talking about?"

"What I'm talking about is making me feel miserable. You did that back when we were teenagers. You want him, you want his money now that he's this big WWE star."

"You don't know what you're talking about." Brandon huffed.

"Well, Mother loves to talk about anything and everything. She's told me that you've had to ask Dad about money loans, something about gambling was it? So what, do you think if you sleep with Jon you'll get some sort of financial benefit out of it. No, that's not right. Prostitution is illegal. So then what? What is your game? We're piss poor, she's obviously got money somewhere, she's happy with Jon. Oh, hey, let's give them problems. Let's kill the baby."

"That's just stupid, we wouldn't do that." Vanessa interjected.

"I've been hit in the stomach countless times, I have a damaged uterus, Vanessa. Getting emotional, frantic, panicking, I could go into early labor and loose my son, my miracle child. Because that's exactly what you're doing right now."

I snatched up my laptop and headed for the stairs.

* * *

><p>I tried not to cry. That would make issues. Jon could go after Brandon and Vanessa for picking on me.<p>

So I was laying on my side of the bed and wiping away my tears. I had closed the door, just to have some peace and quiet. I was waiting for Jon to come back from his shower, which he did with a clean and shaved face. His hair was combed back and he was carrying in his dirty cloths and then tossing them in the dirty cloths hamper on the other side of the room. I silently watched him, my face buried in the pillow up to my eyes.

"Princess?" Jon asked seeing me. "Annie, what is it?"

"It's been twelve years, nearly thirteen, and she still acts the same."

"What are you talking about?" Jon said down on the bed by my knees. "Who are you talking about?"

I blinked the tears into the pillow. "It's Vanessa and Brandon, they came in when you were taking a shower. I was trying to write. You know, people trying to see what I was writing, right? Well the conversation went to you. They were trying to give me some stupid excuses as to why you decided to date me."

"Like what?" He was oddly calm when he asked that, his hand coming to rub my hip.

"He said something about pitying me. And then dating me because I am a famous children's author. Then Vanessa tried to tell me that you used to stalk her or something like that."

"That's actually true." Jon said, looking away slightly.

Great, was this going to be another dog shooting type of story? But I didn't say anything that was floating through my head, I wanted to hear this from Jon himself.

"I stalked her because she was doing strange things. It got to the point when she refused to be intimate with me, and I wondered why. So one day I followed her and I found them hooking up at, of all places, a park. I broke his windows with my fists, that's why I have some minor scars on my knuckles." He showed his hand to me. "So what did you say in return."

"In a round about sort of way, I told them that they were jealous and that they wanted to kill Spencer, which Vanessa denied all together. So I told them that they were upsetting me, and that I had a damaged uterus and that Spencer was a miracle, the one thing of Sketch that I had left. And that if they keep it up then they were going to kill my baby. I don't think Ma would ever forgive them because of that."

"I wouldn't either."

He stayed there, on the edge of my bed rubbing my hip and just looking at me. I didn't know what I wanted at that moment out of Jon, I didn't know if there was anything either of us could say but maybe the silence was a good thing.

Suddenly Jon was kneeling in front of the bed, facing my stomach. In the past he'd never really been interested in the kinds of things that married men would do to their pregnant wives, like talk to the babies in the womb. And I didn't stop Jon when he pulled back the covers and then lifted up my shirt.

He placed his ear against the side of my stomach and listened.

"Hey there, Little Man, happy in there?" He asked rubbing the understand of my large belly. "Do you know that when you get out you're going to have a big family waiting for you. You'll have a Grandma, a grandpa, and then you'll have two uncles and an aunt that will baby you. Cousin Dwayne will teach you football, that much I'm sure of."

I didn't have anything to do aside from reaching over and playing with the hair at the nape of Jon's neck.

"You wanna know what you and me are going to do, you and Papa Jon are going to watch all the wrestling movies and dvds and tapes that I have."

Papa Jon? What now? What did Jon just call himself?

"See, you don't have a daddy anymore. You do have a great mommy waiting to hold you when you come on out. Me, I care about ya too, Little Man. I don't plan on leaving your mommy for a long time."

Another round of tears were threatening to spill as I listening to Jon speaking to my baby.

"Maybe one day I'll ask Mommy to marry me. You wanna know why? Because I care about her a lot. I want what's best for and and for you. And tomorrow is going to be a big day for you." Then he looked at me and then Jon came to lean over my head. "Tomorrow, Babe, you're going to be surprised with everything." He kissed me and then pulled back. "I'm going to go get ready for bed. Go to sleep without me."

And that was exactly what I did.

* * *

><p>Christmas Morning, I don't even remember what happened after I had fallen asleep. But when I woke up Jon wasn't there, which became a normal thing apparently. So I got up, and felt that strange pressure from the night before. This time a little more intense but it didn't last long either.<p>

I expected to see Jon downstairs, with Ma and Sika, talking around the Christmas tree. But there was something wrong. There was no Christmas tree. It was like the Grinch had come in and took it. I stood at the bottom of the stairs and looked around. Where were all the presents, where was everyone.

Just then the front door opened and Jon came in. "Great, Princess, you're awake. I came to get you."

"Jon, what's going on. Where's the tree and the presents that were under it?" I asked as he grabbed my jacket.

"That's the surprise. Come on, we've been planning this thing with you for a long time. It's not far away at all."

I didn't want to walk. My stomach was hurting, or at least the pressure in my lower back hurt bad too. So I got in the coat and pulled on my shoes.

The rain had lightened up in the couple days since that storm rolled through. But I walked slowly up the street. It was beyond the man that had the largest light display on the block, on the next block of houses. Jon took something out of his pocket and then tied it around my eyes.

"Jon?" I tried to take the cloth off of my eyes.

"No way, Princess. This is so you don't see your surprise before we're ready."

I didn't like being blindfolded but with Jon holding my arm and my hand, I felt a little better.

"There they are." I heard Tera yell, but she got shushed by Joe.

"Almost done." I heard Sika call out to Jon.

I heard other people also, but I wasn't sure what to expect when Jon positioned me in front of my Christmas surprise.

"Okay, sweetie, this is our Christmas gift to you." I heard Ma say as she came up to my other side.

Then there was a count down. "1, 2, 3, take off the blind fold." People chanted.

I did, sliding it up my forehead and what I saw dumbfounded me. What the hell?

"What?" I managed to get out of my mouth.

We were standing in front of a house decorated with all sorts of lights and stuff like that. Even on this gloomy Christmas morning, they shown really well. There was a garage lined with candy canes and of all things reindeer on the front lawn.

Joe, Jess, Matt, Tera, Sandy, Scott, Antoinette were there all smiling at us. But with the amount of cars on the road, around this beautiful peach colored house, I didn't know who else was there.

"This is yours, Princess." Jon said, making me look at him.

Sandy walked up. "I saw this house on the market soon after the first and I brought it up with your folks that wouldn't it be great for you to have your own house for Christmas. So everyone pitched in and to get it ready for you."

"My house?"

Sika held out the keys to me. "Why don't you go check it out yourself?"

So I did, with a little fear might I add. But first I leaned down and gave Tera a kiss because she wanted it. Then I soon I found myself at the front door to the house that looked a lot like Ma's own home.

Unlocking a door with shaking hands was time consuming but I did and with Jon right behind me he smiled and nodded.

I came to stand into the foyer of a large house that had a staircase that went up the stairs. A living room was just to the right of the front door and that's where I saw the missing Christmas tree and the missing presents. The banister was covered in garlands and lights. There were stockings hung by the fake chimney.

To the left I could see a dining room, and just through that was the kitchen. Something told me to head in that direction so I did. The house was decorated in a classy modern style, kind of my style. The dining room had red walls and there was a black mahogany table in there with six matching chairs.

Just beyond that was a real modern kitchen. Silver, metal appliances and a lovely overhead light that was black metal as well. It was big where I could cook, not that I was terrible cook or anything like that. I glanced over my shoulder as I came to the kitchen island and saw that everyone from the front were following Jon and me, waiting with big smiles. There was a sliding glass door that went out back to the back yard. That's where my biggest surprise was.

Family. This was my family. And the best thing was that Vanessa and Brandon weren't there.

"Surprise, Merry Christmas Annie." My extended family yelled filling up the large backyard that was surrounded by tall wooden fencing.

Seeing Tally, Solofa, their sons, Cousin Dwayne, everyone basically from the Anoa'i family that I knew was there. Trinity was there too. Myritza was there, which was a good thing for me.

But my happiness ended suddenly. Summer yelled out that her water broke and I ended up nearly collapsing in pain myself. Could it be possible to have a dual labor going on? I didn't know but I was sure that I was in extreme pain.

"Something's wrong." I managed to get out of my mouth while grasping Jon's arm and Ma's hand.

Something was wrong, I knew it. The pain in my stomach started happening so suddenly. I wasn't due until March. I wasn't due.

Something was wrong with my baby.

* * *

><p><strong>And that is the first part of the Christmas update. The rest of the story tomorrow.<strong>


	23. Chapter 22: The Future Looks Bright

I had been rushed to the hospital. Summer and Scott were also rushed there. In the ER only one person could be there with me, and that person was Jon.

"She's going into preterm labor." The nurse told the ER doctor.

I had one of those breathing masks on because of my rapid breathing. There were sensors around my stomach.

"The baby's heart beat is dropping."

In a mad rush, I couldn't hear what was going said but I could see the doctor talking to Jon as I was being wheeled away. I could just see the fear he had on his face as he listened to the doctor while watching me being wheeled on out.

C-Section, I needed that to get my baby out. They were going to prep me for surgery. I was scared, I was alone. Just like the story that I had started. No one was there with me. Jon had disappeared and I wasn't sure what was wrong with my baby. I could only hold on, just for a while for Spencer's sake.

I remembered something that happened. It was back when Jon and I started to really get close, he'd come with me to the cemetery where Sketch had been buried. Before we left I had put a flower in front of Sketch's headstone and then as I was still within ear shot I heard Jon say something that made my heart ache.

"I'm not saying you didn't do everything you could but you did protect Annie. I promise you I will be the one to watch over her and your kid."

And I began crying as they prepped me for surgery.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" One of the nurses asked pulling back the breathing mask.

I looked at her. "My first love is dead, and now my boyfriend isn't going to be here to make sure my son is okay." I told her.

"What's your boyfriend's name?" She asked in a nice calm voice, I'm sure was for me.

"Jon Good."

She said she was going to see what she could do and then she walked out.

Time in a crisis either speeds up or slows down, even if time was constant. As the doctor came in to begin the surgery, I saw another figure, taller than the doctor following him. Almost instantly I knew that it was Jon. He was there, wearing sterile scrubs and a surgical mask on. I was laying on my back, they had put half of my body to sleep, but I was still fully awake.

"Hey, Princess." Jon said as he came to sit right next to my head.

"Jon, you're here."

"Of course I am. A very nice nurse suggested that I come and stay with you. That way you wouldn't feel so alone." He rubbed the side of my head with his thumb.

"Thank you," I said as a tear fell from my left eye.

"Okay," the doctor announced to everyone. "Let's see if we can get this little boy out to see his mom."

I tried to not breathe hard. I thought that if I breathed too hard then the doctor wouldn't be able to do his job right.

"I just found out that Noella was born." Jon said bringing my wretched thoughts to something a little more pleasing. "Noella Oline Adams. Such a beautiful name for your new niece. Wanna know something else?"

"What?"

"The entire waiting room is full up with your family, for you, for Summer and for the two little ones" I could see the mask move, he was smiling I could only guess. "Not only that, people are praying for you both. The WWE is running along with it cause I called my bosses."

"It doesn't need to be public knowledge, Jon."

"I told them that I was going to stay here. I had some shows coming up and I told them I didn't want to leave until I knew that both you and Spencer were okay."

That I could understand.

"Okay, I found him." The doctor announced a little while later. "I'm going to get him out. He's a little blue."

Blue? That mean that he was lacking oxygen. My baby couldn't breathe.

But what happened next was almost a miracle in and of itself. I heard the first screams of the baby that was my son. He was crying, which was a blessing. Jon had been standing up when the doctor started pulling him out of me so he could see everything that was going on.

"He looks full term." The doctor said as he handed Spencer over to one of the nurses.

"When was he supposed to be due?"

"In May some time." Jon said.

"You must be a happy father, your son is healthy. He's actually breathing on his own." The nurse said.

Jon didn't contest to that bit of information.

"Does daddy want to come over here and look at your son?" She asked in the next moment.

I looked at Jon and nodded slightly before turning my head to watch him head over to where they were cleaning Spencer up.

"He is six pounds even." The nurse said. "A little small but some babies are."

At least he was within the normal range.

And then something happened as I was watching Jon. He wasn't touching Spencer but I saw the way he stood. His shoulders started shaking, a clear sign he was crying. Jon was crying over Spencer.

Then I began daydreaming to myself things that could happen if they were to stay that way. I could see myself going home with Spencer and Jon would be there. And when Spencer became a year old, he would say his first word, Dada as he looked at Jon. And by the time he's five, Spencer and Jon would be playing football in the backyard with Joe and Dwayne. I would happily stand on the back porch and watch it all with some of my family, even Sandy as her daughter and Noella played nearby with their little dolls.

Those were the memories I wanted to hold on to for the rest of my life. They were the ones that would make me want to do the right thing for my son.

Spencer was bundled up in a blue blanket and a little baby cap was put on his head. He had quieted down when he was put into Jon's arms.

"Oh gosh, that is so sweet." A nurse said.

Jon walked up to me and present my son to me. "Here's your little man, Annie." He said with a lot of strain in his voice.

"My baby." I whimpered as I kissed the side of his head. "My baby boy."

He was starting to pink up, a healthy kind of pink even if he was a tad bit smaller than what a normal baby would be.

This was a Christmas I was never going to forget.

* * *

><p>This is what the hospital did for everyone in the family. Summer and I were put in the same hospital room. The doctor's didn't believe that Spencer needed to go to the NNICU since he was breathing on his own and had pinked up. They would keep a watch on us, Summer and me both, by coming in every fifteen minutes.<p>

With the family being so large, there were only small groups that could come in. Like, first it was immediate family like Ma, Sika, Joe, Jess in the first round. Then Myritza and cousins Jon and Josh and Trinity in the second.

Dwayne came in with Dany and Simone, along with of all people Colby. Yeah, where did he come from? He wasn't at the house.

"Where did you come from?" Jon asked.

"Some nice old guy gave me a lift from Davenport. Leighla wanted me to be here, which is a miracle. Anyway, the flights were canceled and this guy had a plane. He said he was heading to Pensacola and well, here I am." He smiled. "I want to see the kid."

"You won't drop him, will you?" I asked.

For whatever reason, everyone was calling Noella and Spencer the Christmas Twins, and they were in the same hospital bassinet together. They were even sleeping with their heads together. One bassinet and two kids. It was a sight to hold.

"Anoa'i?" Colby asked looking at Spencer's name.

I shrugged. "He's every bit as much as this family. I'm waiting for the paperwork to go through so that I can change my last name to Anoa'i but it should be finished at least by New Years."

"Spencer Joseph Anoa'i, interesting. And who's his girlfriend?" He asked.

"Shut up, that's his cousin Noella Oline Adams." Summer said earning a laugh from Colby.

Seeing Colby with a baby in his arms was a funny thing. And what was funnier was Spencer decided to cry, which made Noella bust out into her own fits.

"Great going, you broke both of them," Simone said crossing her arms.

Colby looked at me helplessly as I tried to hide the laugh that was starting to hurt my stomach. Finally it was Jon who saved Colby's misery and took Spencer from him. As if on cue, Spencer started to calm down and Jon gave his friend the biggest, ha ha look anyone could get.

"How do you do that?" Colby asked.

Noella was being picked up by her own Daddy, Scott easily tucked her in his arm and then he sat down next to Summer.

"It's a daddy thing." Scott said. "You wouldn't understand."

Jon laughed as he sat next to me. "Merry Christmas, Princess. This is like the biggest thing to happen in my life."

"Your life, try mine. I get a family, a house that I still am confused over and my son is born closer to term than doctors thought he was." That's right, the reason why he was so healthy was because he came about six weeks early. He may have been small but he was healthy like a full term baby.

Seeing Jon rocking with Spencer in his arms was kind of funny too. It was like infant and man were in tune with each other.

* * *

><p>A little while later, after the throng of visitors came through I ended up falling asleep. Jon was still there but when I woke up neither he nor Scott were there.<p>

"Summer?" I looked at her.

"Hmm?" She rubbed her eyes and looked at me. "What is it?"  
>"Where are our guys?" I asked and then looked at the bassinet only to find Spencer and Noella still bundled and sleeping together.<p>

She looked around. "I don't know." Summer pushed herself up into a sitting position. "I wonder where they went."

"I can't believe you guys hid a house from me," I said looking at her. "I mean really?"

She smiled. "Because, you need this place, you really needed it. During one of the trips down here, Sandy saw it and instantly knew that this was the home you were going to need. She said, 'That is going to be Annie's and Jon's home together.' And then she went to Mom and Dad, Joe and Jess, and declared that was the house you were going to live in, to be here with the family."

It was one of those things, one of those things that could bring a woman to tears. They did this for me. And it was a beautiful house, at least from what I had seen of the downstairs area.

"Vanessa?" Summer asked looking up when someone walked into the room.

Vanessa, yeah that's right. I sat up straighter because with her was Brandon. Vanessa had a vase of flowers and set it down on the counter next to Summer's bed.

"I came to see my sister."

No comment, Annie, I thought to myself. Vanessa wasn't the one that I was worried about, it was Brandon. He hadn't said anything, instead he walked up to the bassinet and looked down at the two infants.

"So this is what all the fuss is about." Vanessa looked down at the two babies. "What is he doing in there?" She looked at me with cold eyes. Really cold eyes.

"The nurses did it." Summer said. "And I think it's sweet. They like sleeping like that."

"Well, he needs to be in his own crib. This is stupid." Vanessa said as she reached into the bassinet.

"You touch Spencer Joseph, I will have security take you out of here." I threatened when I saw her hands reach under my son.

He began crying and even though I was in bed I hit the nurses button and started to get out of the bed. Vanessa was holding this tiny baby, still considered a premature little guy. And she looked cold.

"So this thing is the reason why Jon stayed with you huh."

"Give me my baby." I nearly yelled.

And Brandon didn't say anything. But he did reach out put his hand under Spencer's head, looking at the little baby.

"Give me my baby!" I yelled this time.

The nurse that came in stopped just for a second. Took one look around the room and then went straight for Vanessa.

"What do you think you're doing?" She asked, gently snatching the wailing infant out of Vanessa's hands.

Noella was crying now, the room was filled with their tiny wailing and my sobs as I begged the nurse for my baby. She handed him over to me and I sat on the side of the bed cradling him, rocking him, saying that everything was okay, that Mommy had him.

"Security!" The nurse called out as she picked up Noella and then handed her over to Summer.

The both of them were taken out, Brandon not fighting but Vanessa had one last thing to say.

"You should never have returned, Annella. That kid is not my nephew, you're not my sister and Jon should have been mine."

I cradled my son, pressing my hand to my face and cried even harder. She could have dropped my son, she would have if the nurse hadn't come in. I was scared. Would she do something like that, hurt an innocent baby just because Jon loved him and me more than he ever did her?

It was like a sequel to a story that would tear a family apart. The best that I could hope for was to never speak to that woman again.

"Annie." I looked up as I saw Jon walk in.

At this time, about twenty minutes after Vanessa and Brandon had left, I was breast feeding Spencer. The only way to actively get him to calm down was to occupy his mouth, so to speak. My eyes were red and puffy, Summer was also crying at one point and she had just finished feeding Noella when Jon came in with Joe and Scott, Sandy and Kevin, with Antoinette.

"What happened? Why is there a guard outside your door?" Joe asked.

"Vanessa." Summer said. "Vanessa and Brandon came here. She picked Spencer up and even though Annie demanded that she give him to her she looked strange. She went and called him a thing, too."

Jon put the wrapped gifts down on the tray next to my bed and then wrapped his arm around me and hugged slightly since I was preoccupied with my son.

"How my little man doing?" He asked rubbing the peach fuzz hair on top of Spencer's head.

"Quiet now." I said.

"Good," he turned my head towards him and then kissed me. "How are you doing?"

"Anxious, fearing that they will be back." I rested my head back against his arm. "I was so scared, Jon."  
>"I know. I know you would be. I'm sorry I wasn't here to protect you and him, Summer and Noella too."<br>From the other side of the room Scott spoke up. "That's my job."  
>He looked at the other white guy in the room and nodded. "Still, someone needed to be here with them."<p>

I wiped my eyes and looked at the things on the tray. "What are those?"

"Those are the gifts from under the tree. Ms. Patricia, Sika and the immediate family are going to open gifts up in here, so that Tera can see the babies." Jon said.

"Where's Clown Nose?"

"Asleep in the guest bedroom at your place." Joe supplied. "He'll be back later today."  
>"Okay." I said as I saw Ma and Sika walking up with Jess and Tera.<p>

"What happened?" Ma asked seeing that both Summer and I didn't look happy.

Before I could answer Summer spoke up. "Vanessa and Brandon were here. Mom, I know she is my sister but the look on her face,"

"It was cold and she was holding Spencer while looking at him." I sniffed slightly.

Jon kissed my forehead. "I'll make sure nothing happens to you, Annella."

We took a brief time to compose ourselves, and when we did it rose to a happy time as presents were handed out for the family.

"To Jon, From Annie." Sika said handing Jon the wrapped thing.

Jon glanced at me as he took the present but he started to unwrap it anyway. And when he saw it he smiled.

"Where'd you get this?"

"What?" Jess asked.

Jon flipped the frame over for them to see. "Remember when I took Annie to the Santa's Village. Nick took a picture of us kissing in front of the Reindeer pen. At least I didn't know he took it."  
>I smiled. "That's because he sent it to me. I think he knows," I shrugged.<p>

"What?" Tera asked.

"He knows because he's The Man." Jon responded.

"What?" This time she looked at him.

"He knows if you've been naughty or nice." I answered as I looked at Jon. "But I'm still having a hard time believing it still."

"Well you better believe me, I want more of this to come." He leaned over and kissed me. "Thanks, Babe. This one I am going to cherish."

Good, that was good for me at that moment.

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><p><strong>I have one more update but I'm going to leave that for you guys tomorrow. I've been too busy today to do a lot of writing. So until then, I'll see you guys later.<strong>


	24. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

**December 31, 2014 **

When the last of the guests had left I looked at the clock. It was almost midnight.

"It's going to be 2015 soon." Jon said from behind me.

Jon was being Jon, wearing his ratty jeans and a graphic tee shirt. But there was an added bonus, my son. Jon's boy. I was still a little hesitant about calling Jon Spencer's daddy, because I knew one day I was going to be talking to Spencer about Sketch and why Jon was there for all of his childhood. But that wouldn't happen until a lot later, years to come. I still wasn't sure what the future held for Jon, Spencer and I.

I had been let out of the hospital with Spencer that New Years Eve because by some miracle Spencer was doing a lot better. He grew a few centimeters and gained some weight. The party had just finished and it was just Jon and me in the house. I couldn't forget Spencer, my miracle boy.

"Have any special wishes?" Jon asked as he brought my thoughts back to the here and now.

I shrugged. "I think I got what I wanted. A family for Christmas, finding love again after a trauma and having a miracle son."

"That's a lot of wishes completed." Jon said as I walked up to him and Spencer, fast asleep on his arm.

I was amazed at how well Jon was taking this, being a father when his own was not in the picture. He never had a father figure, but neither did I. I could now understand how a lot of the family saw how we had so much in common.

"We've come a long way, haven't we?"

I smiled. "Us? Yes, we have as a couple. But I want to make this work, for you, for me, for Spencer as well."

Jon gave me a tender kiss under the dim light of the foyer. I smiled into it, but knew tonight was not the night that we could get intimate. So Jon turned and headed up the stairs to the second level, with me following him.

There were four rooms. My master bedroom, which included a four poster bed of mahogany, then there was Spencer's nursery but he would be sleeping in the bassinet in the room with me. Then I had my own little attic office, which had a perfect view of the beach and the surf in the back. There was a guest bedroom and then what I would call the game room, or it was Jon's man cave. I could see him and Joe spending their free time in there while watching football or wrestling. I wasn't sure at that point and yet it was a great mental image that I wanted to keep forever.

We got to the master bedroom and Jon laid Spencer down in the bassinet at the foot of the large queen size bed.

"Tired yet?" Jon asked looking at me.

"Very. I'm sure he'll want to eat in a few hours so I should get as much sleep as I can."

I was still tender in my stomach from the C Section and I was careful about doing anything strenuous. So getting into bed was the issue I had at that moment. I tried to get up there but it felt like I was tearing something in my stomach. No wonder why the doctor suggested that I be on bed rest for a while.

"Here." Jon said from behind me.

He tucked his arm under my knees and braced my upper back with the other and then lifted me up into the bed. Oh that bed was so comfortable. And while I was getting comfortable, I hadn't registered that Jon went into the master bathroom to change until he was crawling into be with me.

"Come on, Princess, let's get some sleep before the kid wakes up." He said coming to rest his head next to mine.

It may have been the end of this story but there were still more to come for the three of us. Even if I couldn't see it coming I could prepare for it.

All I needed was Jon and Spencer, and the family I've always wanted on my side. Regardless that there were still some unsolved issues going on with some of them, I had high hopes that nothing too bad would come along and bite my butt in the end.

I was still a writer, but now I was a mother. My focus was on my son, watching him grow. And on my relationship with Jon, and we were still growing in a relationship with each and every day that passed. For a Lunatic Fringe person, he was calm, very calm, especially when it came to Spencer and me. Even while I was the one freaking out Jon was the rock that held me up.

And that was what I needed. I needed Jon to be there to calm Spencer down. I needed Jon to be there to tell me that everything was going to be okay. I needed to be there to experience it.

Surely this was going to be a Christmas memory I would hold dear in my heart forever.

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><p><strong>Well there you have it another end to a story. I hoped you all enjoyed it. And I am thinking about continuing this Annie and Jon story, but it isn't set in stone yet. <strong>

**Anyway, I plan on having more stories coming but I need to write them first. So until then, I'll see you there.**


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